Victor Trumper was considered to be Australia's greatest batsman in his time, but the only known film of him playing is an inglorious moment.

It is 100 years ago this week that Trumper took off for a run at a Sydney Test match, only to see South African Charlie Llewellyn gather the ball and knock down the stumps with a direct hit, dismissing the Australian opener for 27.

In the context of his glittering career, Trumper's runout was a mere footnote, but it has been preserved as a snippet of film.

To celebrate the centenary, the National Film and Sound Archive has digitally remastered the film at the correct speed of 16 frames per second and photochemically preserved it onto 35mm polyester safety film stock.

Archivist Simon Smith says while some cricket was filmed earlier than the 1910 Test match, this footage is the earliest Test cricket action filmed in Australia known still to exist.

"It is one of only two known pieces of film of Trumper with a bat in his hand, so it is very precious," he said.

The footage was shot on 35mm nitrate film and was part of a Pathe Animated Gazette newsreel.

It starts with a group shot of the South Africans before their first Test match in Australia and then has the Trumper dismissal.

Trumper dominated the series, scoring two centuries and two half-centuries including a career high of 214 not out in Adelaide.

Australia won the series 4-1.

His magnificent efforts came just five years before his death from Bright's disease at the age of 37.