English cricket tour of North America, 1859

The first-ever overseas cricket tour by an England team was to North America after the end of the 1859 season in England. Sometimes referred to as George Parr's XI, there were twelve players in the team. Six were members of the All-England Eleven (AEE), and six were of the United England Eleven (UEE). Their county teams were Surrey (4 players), Cambridgeshire (3), Nottinghamshire (3), and Sussex (2).

Departure
The final match of the 1859 English season was North v Surrey at the Broughton Cricket Club Ground in Salford. It ended on 27 August, and Surrey won by 34 runs. Ten of the twelve England players took part in that match.

Matches
On 7 September, the team sailed from Liverpool on the SS Nova Scotian, the voyage to New York City lasting about two weeks.
After their arrival, the team moved on to Montreal, where the first match of the tour, against Lower Canada XXII, began on 24 September. A total of nine matches were played between then and 25 October. None of them were first-class. Five were "odds" matches in which England's Eleven were against teams of Twenty-two. The other four were exhibition games in which there were either five or six England players per side, along with five or six North American players. The team sailed home after the final match, and arrived in Liverpool on 7 November.

The odds matches were against Lower Canada in Montreal; United States on the St George's Club Ground in Hoboken; Philadelphia on the Camac's Wood ground there; a local team in Hamilton, Ontario; and a combined Canada/USA team in Rochester, New York. England won all five by substantial margins.

George Parr was injured in the match against Philadelphia, and could not bat in either England innings. The next match, also in Philadelphia, was a North v South exhibition game which was abandoned because of bad weather. The New York Times reported that Parr could not play because he was "unwell". It then said he would be able to travel with the team to Hamilton next day, but would not be well enough to play in the next match there. In fact, Parr did not play in any of the remaining games.

Accompanying the team was Fred Lillywhite, the younger brother of John Lillywhite. Fred acted as the England scorer during matches, and also compiled match reports. In 1860, he published an account of the tour called The English Cricketers' Trip to Canada and the United States.

Players
The table below presents a summary of the England players.
+ For key to skills, etc., see abbreviations used in cricket Name Dates Teams Skills First-class Notes Birth Death Debut Final (captain)   Nottinghamshire, AEE RHB/RU 1844 1870 Outstanding batter who was known as the "Lion of the North".    Surrey, AEE RHB/RFR 1849 1867 Played in two matches for Lancashire in 1851, both against Yorkshire.     Surrey, UEE,New South Wales  RHB/RMR 1849 1873 An outstanding all-rounder, and one of the greatest players of the roundarm era. Lived in Australia for many years and greatly influenced the growth of cricket there.    Cambridgeshire, UEE RHB/WK 1855 1876 Opening batter, who was also an occasional wicket-keeper.    Cambridgeshire, AEE RHB/RFMU 1843 1866 Played for Middlesex in 1850, and Nottinghamshire in 1858.    Nottinghamshire, UEE RHB/RFR 1850 1869 Outstanding bowler. In 1857, he was the first player to be given out handled the ball in a first-class match.    Cambridgeshire, AEE RHB/RMR 1854 1872 Top-class batter who was the son of Daniel Hayward, and the uncle of Tom Hayward.    Nottinghamshire, AEE RHB/RFR 1855 1867 Generally considered the greatest fast bowler of the roundarm era.    Sussex, UEE RHB/RFR 1848 1873 All-rounder, and a son of William Lillywhite. He later became an umpire. He was involved in the 1862 no-ball dispute with Ned Willsher which led to the legalisation of overarm bowling.    Surrey, UEE RHB/WK/RFMR 1849 1866 Top-class wicket-keeper who was also a useful fast medium bowler.    Surrey, AEE RHB/RFR 1853 1871 All-rounder who captained the first England team to visit Australia, in 1861/62.    Sussex, UEE RHB/RSU 1845 1863 One of the greatest bowlers of the 1850s. Founded Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 1864, the year after he retired from playing.

References

Category:Cricket tours