harvey began his final tour to england in 1961, and benaud's regular absences due to a shoulder injury allowed him to lead australia for a third of the tour matches. this included most of the first month of the tour; benaud hurt his shoulder in the first match against worcestershire, and spent most of the next three weeks either not bowling or travelling to london away from his men for specialist treatment. at one stage, australia were left with only 10 men on the field when benaud excused himself and his replacement succumbed to illness, requiring an englishman to stand in. harvey scored 474 runs at 47.40 in eight matches leading up to the tests, including centuries against lancashire and glamorgan. it seemed that harvey would captain australia in a test for the first time with benaud's shoulder still problematic, but the captain declared himself fit. harvey then made 114 in the drawn first test at edgbaston. this helped australia take a 321-run first innings lead and put them in control of the match, but the hosts batted for the remainder of the match to stave off defeat; benaud's shoulder prevented him from bowling more than nine overs.