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1893 was a milestone year in the history of the Ashes. The previous
year, in 1891-92, for the first time ever, the Aussies had won the
Ashes series 2-1. [The 1882 test that the Australians won at the Oval
is not considered part of The Ashes.]
In
the summer of 1893, the Australian cricketers led by Jack Blackham went
to England convinced that they would win the away-series. The
pressure was on England to regain the Ashes - they had never lost a
series at home!
The 1893 tour marked what has been
described as the "heartbeat of the Golden Age" of cricket
and is catalogued in the book "The Prince and the Doctor - The 1893
Australian Tour to England and North America. " After losing the
Ashes series 0-1, the Australians crossed the Atlantic to play six
matches in North America - five in USA and one against Canada.
The Australians were picked up in Ellis
Island (Jersey City) and transported to Philadelphia by private train
and they played without any rest. An event that in itself was worthy
of a poem in the mind of one.
‘Who was it that whipt the Australians?
Others' glory we don’t want to mar
But the victory was won and won nobly
By John Green with his fast private car.
It was in USA that the Australians had their worst game of the tour
when they lost to Philadelphia by an innings and 68 runs. Gentlemen of
Philadelphia posted a record 525 (highest for an American team playing
first class cricket - Philadelphia was considered a first class team).
Of course, excuses were made. The
Australians were tired after a long voyage across the seas. Australian
bowlers protested that they needed rest before the big match. But
Aussie captain Jack Blackham acceded to start of play and the match
began after his approval. He probably underrated his opponents and
thought Australians would be steamrolling them.
Was he surprised? "You have better players here than we have been led to believe. They class with England's best," Blackham said before he left Philadelphia.
Francis
H Bohlen scored 118 for Philadelphia in under 4 hours. The wicket
prepared was perfect and and an enormous crowd witnessed the great
match on all days.
Pic (Right): Australia's Eighth Team that toured England and North America in 1893
George Patterson, the opening batsman for Philadelphia hit three fours
in succession causing an uproar among the spectators. He scored 56.
His opening partner Reynolds Driver Brown also started well but was
well taken by the wicketkeeper off Trumble. He made 23 and the score
was 46 when the first wicket fell. Soon after, Patterson misjudged a
run and caused W. Scott to be run out. After that, he himself was run
out after another case of poor running between the wickets.
Arthur Wood made things lively while he was at the wickets by scoring
40 at a rapid clip. Then came the hard hitters Francis Bohlen and
William Noble. They did not undo their reputations and quickly got
the tired Australians into some good old ball-chasing.
Bohlen
was not out on 82 and Noble was not out on 73 at the end of hte day.
While Bohlen went on to score a century, Noble fell adding just 4 runs
to his overnight score. The Americans put up a mammoth 525 first
innings total. When it was Australians’ turn to bat, by the end of
Day 2, the Aussies were 125 for 4 wickets and the Americans were now
guaranteed a draw if not an outright win.
George
Giffen with 60 not out stood in the way of Americans and a verdict.
What happened on Day 3 was beyond belief. Not only did Giffen fall
adding just 2 to his overnight score, the remaining Aussies collapsed
like dominoes and were forced to follow on.
Playing for pride, the Aussies now had to play the remaining 3 sessions
without embarrassing themselves. Aussie opener Alexander Bannerman
(79*) did his best putting up a 40 run partnership of 40 runs with John
Lyons (30) and a third wicket partnership of 94 runs with Trott (58).
But
the momentum was on the Americans’ side and they made sure nobody else
would stay long enough with Bannerman. Eventually, the Aussies lost
by a mammoth margin of an innings and 68 runs.
Thus
began the career of Bart King, without doubt the best USA cricketer
ever. Although his score of 36 in Americans’ only innings was not
spectacular, his five wicket haul in the first innings set the stage
for the victory. He followed that up with two middle-order wickets in
the second innings.
The second match against New York and District Cricket Association was
drawn. Even though the New Yorkers were dismissed for a lackluster
score of 103, a five wicket haul by Wright ensured that the Aussies
were kept in check. The New Yorkers held their nerve on Day 2 and
ensured a draw. Interestingly, this match was played in the Central
Park!
The
Australians were in need of a win after consecutive lackluster
performances. They got the victory they were hoping for in the third
match, this time defeating the Gentlemen of Philadelphia by a 6 wicket
margin.
Having
faced the strongest opposition in New York and Philadelphia, the
Australians proceeded to Boston where they defeated Massachusetts by 8
wickets. From there, they went to Toronto where they scored a stunning
victory over Canada by an innings and 70 runs. From Toronto, they went
to Detroit on whom they inflicted an even bigger defeat of an innings and 157 runs.
September 29- October 2, 1893 - Philadelphia vs Australia
Belmont Cricket Club Ground, Philadelphia (3-day match)
Gentlemen of Philadelphia first innings
*GS Patterson run out 56
RD Brown c Blackham b Trumble 23
W Scott run out 8
AM Wood b Bruce 40
FH Bohlen c Trott b Bruce 118
WW Noble b Trumble 77
HC Coates lbw b Bruce 15
JW Muir b Coningham 9
HI Brown not out 59
+FW Ralston run out 47
JB King c Lyons b Bannerman 36
Extras (17 b, 12 lb, 4 nb, 4 w) 37
Total (all out, 169.1 overs) 525
Fall of wickets:
1-46, 2-62, 3-124, 4-131, 5-311, 6-344, 7-353, 8-374, 9-464, 10-525 (169.1 ov)
Australians bowling
G Giffen 33 7 114 0
Trumble 55 20 104 2
Trott 15 3 45 0
Coningham 20 5 63 1
Lyons 11 4 34 0
Bruce 20 3 100 3
Gregory 12 5 27 0
Bannerman 3.1 2 1 1
Australians first innings
AC Bannerman c HI Brown b King 16
JJ Lyons c Bohlen b Patterson 12
G Giffen c Wood b King 62
GHS Trott b King 0
W Bruce c Wood b King 11
H Graham run out 25
SE Gregory c King b HI Brown 12
H Trumble c Wood b HI Brown 1
WF Giffen not out 18
A Coningham b King 9
*+JM Blackham b HI Brown 22
Extras (6 b, 3 lb, 2 nb) 11
Total (all out, 49.4 overs) 199
Fall of wickets:
1-24, 2-29, 3-31, 4-67, 5-125, 6-146, 7-146, 8-149, 9-160, 10-199 (49.4 ov)
Gentlemen of Philadelphia
King 25 6 78 5
Patterson 6 0 31 1
HI Brown 12.4 3 41 3
Scott 2 0 20 0
RD Brown 4 0 18 0
Australians second innings (following on)
JJ Lyons c Ralston b Patterson 30
AC Bannerman not out 79
G Giffen c Bohlen b HI Brown 1
GHS Trott c Scott b Muir 58
W Bruce c Bohlen b Muir 0
H Graham c Muir b King 2
SE Gregory c Coates b Scott 32
H Trumble b King 0
WF Giffen c Ralston b Scott 2
A Coningham c Coates b Scott 30
*+JM Blackham run out 6
Extras (9 b, 5 lb, 3 nb, 1 w) 18
Total (all out, 94.3 overs) 258
Fall of wickets:
1-40, 2-41, 3-135, 4-139, 5-146, 6-201, 7-201, 8-208, 9-249, 10-258 (94.3 ov)
Gentlemen of Philadelphia bowling
King 32.3 5 90 2
Patterson 17 4 48 1
HI Brown 19 6 28 1
Scott 11 1 41 3
RD Brown 1 0 10 0
Noble 5 2 9 0
Muir 9 4 14 2
October 4th and 5th, 1893 - New York and District XVIII vs Australia XIII
Central Park, New York (2-day match)
New York and District first innings
AE Patterson run out 3
RL Brown b Trumble 7
H Tyers b McLeod 3
FJ Prendergast b Trumble 1
MR Cobb run out 4
AS Durrant c G Giffen b Trumble 5
RT Rokeby b McLeod 4
Mattock c Trumble b McLeod 0
AH Stratford c Trott b Trumble 25
HN Townsend c and b Trumble 1
SH Barton c and b Trumble 0
HB Coyne c G Giffen b Trumble 5
Wright b Trumble 4
H MacNutt c Jarvis b Trumble 7
CP Hurditch run out 11
FWT Stiles lbw b Bruce 9
TJ O'Reilly b Trumble 1
WC Talbot not out 1
Extras (9 b, 2 lb, 1 nb) 12
Total (all out, 76.2 overs) 103
Fall of wickets:
1-7, 2-12, 3-15, 4-20, 5-24, 6-29, 7-33, 8-33, 9-36, 10-36, 11-62, 12-71, 13-78, 14-81, 15-98, 16-99, 17-103 (76.2 ov)
Australians bowling
McLeod 36 19 48 3
Trumble 38 21 41 10
Bruce 2.2 0 2 1
Australians first innings
AC Bannerman b Wright 2
JJ Lyons b Wright 8
G Giffen c Durrant b Mattock 64
*GHS Trott c Tyers b Wright 8
W Bruce b Cobb 3
H Graham c Townsend b Cobb 9
SE Gregory lbw b Mattock 27
H Trumble not out 59
WF Giffen b Wright 15
RW McLeod b Tyers 0
A Coningham c Patterson b Tyers 0
+AH Jarvis b Wright 1
JM Blackham c Cobb b Durrant 5
Extras (13 b, 2 lb) 15
Total (all out, 98.3 overs) 216
Fall of wickets:
1-4, 2-17, 3-35, 4-52, 5-66, 6-127, 7-139, 8-171, 9-176, 10-176, 11-189, 12-216 (98.3 ov)
New York and District bowling
Wright 27 7 76 5
Cobb 25 9 43 2
MacNutt 5 0 11 0
Townsend 4 0 17 0
Tyers 25 12 34 2
Mattock 12 5 19 2
Durrant 0.3 0 1 1
New York and District second innings
RL Brown c G Giffen b Trott 11
H Tyers c and b G Giffen 4
FJ Prendergast c Coningham b G Giffen 5
MR Cobb not out 35
AS Durrant b McLeod 9
RT Rokeby b Trott 4
Mattock b G Giffen 0
AH Stratford c Trumble b G Giffen 7
HN Townsend b G Giffen 7
HB Coyne b G Giffen 5
CP Hurditch c Graham b G Giffen 1
FWT Stiles c G Giffen b McLeod 2
WC Talbot st Jarvis b McLeod 0
AE Patterson did not bat
SH Barton did not bat
Wright did not bat
H MacNutt did not bat
TJ O'Reilly did not bat
Extras (6 b) 6
Total (12 wickets, 46.4 overs) 96
Fall of wickets:
1-9, 2-10, 3-16, 4-16, 5-24, 6-24, 7-38, 8-52, 9-65, 10-72, 11-83, 12-96 (46.4 ov)
Australians bowling
G Giffen 23.4 6 47 7
McLeod 14 7 20 3
Trott 9 1 23 2
October 6th-9th, 1893 - Gentlemen of Philadelphia vs Australia
Germantown Cricket Club Ground, Manheim, Philadelphia on 6th, 7th, 9th October 1893 (3-day match)
Gentlemen of Philadelphia first innings
*GS Patterson c G Giffen b McLeod 10
RD Brown b Trumble 8
AM Wood c Bruce b McLeod 2
FH Bohlen b Trumble 33
WW Noble b McLeod 2
HI Brown c G Giffen b Trumble 0
EW Clark b McLeod 4
+FW Ralston st Blackham b Trumble 24
AG Thomson c Bruce b Trumble 2
HP Baily not out 19
JB King c G Giffen b Trumble 6
Extras (8 b, 1 w) 9
Total (all out, 52.3 overs) 119
Fall of wickets:
1-16, 2-21, 3-21, 4-27, 5-36, 6-47, 7-85, 8-91, 9-97, 10-119 (52.3 ov)
Australians bowling
Trumble 26.3 9 48 6
McLeod 26 10 62 4
Australians first innings
AC Bannerman c Wood b Clark 12
JJ Lyons c Baily b King 8
G Giffen c Bohlen b Baily 38
GHS Trott c Thomson b Baily 16
W Bruce c HI Brown b Patterson 14
SE Gregory c Wood b Patterson 8
H Graham b Baily 1
H Trumble c Baily b Patterson 14
RW McLeod not out 4
WF Giffen c HI Brown b Baily 20
*+JM Blackham c Clark b Patterson 3
Extras (10 b, 3 lb, 1 nb, 1 w) 15
Total (all out, 60 overs) 153
Fall of wickets:
1-21, 2-37, 3-79, 4-83, 5-104, 6-106, 7-112, 8-122, 9-147, 10-153 (60 ov)
Gentlemen of Philadelphia bowling
Baily 26 8 56 4
King 12 5 25 1
Clark 4 0 18 1
Patterson 18 3 39 4
Gentlemen of Philadelphia second innings
*GS Patterson c Bannerman b Trumble 0
RD Brown b Trumble 0
HP Baily b Trumble 0
AM Wood b Bruce 15
FH Bohlen not out 54
WW Noble b Trumble 6
AG Thomson b Trumble 4
HI Brown b Bruce 0
+FW Ralston b Trumble 7
EW Clark c Bruce b Trumble 5
JB King lbw b McLeod 4
Extras (9 b, 1 lb, 1 nb) 11
Total (all out, 37.2 overs) 106
Fall of wickets:
1-0, 2-0, 3-7, 4-24, 5-33, 6-37, 7-38, 8-45, 9-91, 10-106 (37.2 ov)
Australians bowling
Trumble 19 4 48 7
McLeod 11.2 4 29 1
Bruce 7 1 18 2
Australians second innings
JJ Lyons b Baily 7
AC Bannerman not out 13
GHS Trott c Ralston b Baily 12
G Giffen c HI Brown b King 1
W Bruce c Wood b Baily 1
SE Gregory not out 36
H Graham did not bat
H Trumble did not bat
RW McLeod did not bat
WF Giffen did not bat
*+JM Blackham did not bat
Extras (2 b, 1 nb) 3
Total (4 wickets, 29.1 overs) 73
Fall of wickets:
1-7, 2-22, 3-25, 4-26
Gentlemen of Philadelphia bowling
Baily 11 3 28 3
King 10.1 2 30 1
Clark 6 2 11 0
Patterson 2 1 1 0
October 11th - 13th, 1893 - Massachusetts XVIII vs Australia XII
Baseball Ground, Boston
Massachusetts first innings
R Cracknell b McLeod 3
JJ Heys b Coningham 3
J Keen b Trott 24
R Fairburn b G Giffen 11
J Howard b G Giffen 6
JI Chambers c Blackham b Trott 5
F Fairburn b Trott 0
CL Bixby hit wkt b G Giffen 2
C Hunter c G Giffen b Trott 0
L Mansfield b Trott 2
T Pettitt b G Giffen 3
G Wright c G Giffen b Trott 1
MK Gordon c Coningham b G Giffen 4
JB Newkirk b G Giffen 0
+DJ Bruce c Jarvis b G Giffen 0
JW Dutton st Jarvis b Trott 1
AS Shepherdson not out 7
R Turner b Trott 4
Extras (11 b, 1 lb) 12
Total (all out, 71.1 overs) 88
Australians bowling
Trumble 15 12 6 0
McLeod 10 7 3 1
Coningham 9 3 16 1
G Giffen 21 7 30 7
Gregory 3 2 1 0
Trott 13.1 5 20 8
Australians first innings
AC Bannerman b Cracknell 1
JJ Lyons b Chambers 4
G Giffen st Bruce b Chambers 3
*GHS Trott b Cracknell 22
SE Gregory b Chambers 3
H Graham b Chambers 7
H Trumble b Chambers 3
WF Giffen c Hunter b Chambers 8
A Coningham b Cracknell 7
+AH Jarvis b Chambers 1
RW McLeod not out 0
JM Blackham b Cracknell 0
Extras (5 b, 1 nb) 6
Total (all out, 29 overs) 65
Massachusetts bowling
Cracknell 15 4 29 4
Chambers 14 5 30 7
Massachusetts second innings
R Cracknell c Blackham b G Giffen 1
JJ Heys b Trott 2
J Keen c Blackham b G Giffen 1
R Fairburn b Trott 6
J Howard c Blackham b G Giffen 0
JI Chambers b G Giffen 0
F Fairburn b Trott 2
CL Bixby b Trott 0
C Hunter c Graham b G Giffen 0
L Mansfield b Trott 1
T Pettitt b Trott 0
G Wright c Gregory b Trott 4
MK Gordon not out 0
JB Newkirk st Jarvis b Trott 1
+DJ Bruce st Jarvis b Trott 0
JW Dutton c Trumble b G Giffen 0
AS Shepherdson c Blackham b G Giffen 5
R Turner b Trott 0
Extras (3 b, 1 lb) 4
Total (all out, 24.2 overs) 27
Australians bowling
G Giffen 12 6 18 7
Trott 12.2 9 5 10
Australians second innings
AC Bannerman c Hunter b Cracknell 4
JJ Lyons b Wright 25
G Giffen b Cracknell 9
*GHS Trott not out 8
SE Gregory not out 2
H Graham did not bat
H Trumble did not bat
WF Giffen did not bat
A Coningham did not bat
+AH Jarvis did not bat
RW McLeod did not bat
JM Blackham did not bat
Extras (3 b, 1 lb) 4
Total (3 wickets, 18 overs) 52
Massachusetts bowling
Cracknell 9 0 23 2
Chambers 8 1 19 0
Wright 1 0 6 1
October 18th and 19th, 1893 - Detroit XVIII vs Australian XI
Detroit Athletic Club Ground (2-day match)
Detroit first innings
T Jenner st Blackham b Trott 0
A MacPherson c and b Trumble 14
CB Calvert b Trott 1
WJ Kenney c Coningham b Trott 3
HJM Grylls b Trott 2
C Atkinson b Trumble 0
Pickering b Trumble 16
GP Codd c Trumble b Trott 9
RH Roberts b Trumble 1
J Horstead c Graham b Trumble 4
JC Stuart b Trott 5
T Dale c Graham b Trumble 6
FG Bamford b Trott 0
L Butzel st Blackham b Trumble 4
AH Kessler not out 3
JO Hibbard b Trumble 3
FH Holt b Trumble 0
JJ Dodds c and b Trott 0
Extras 3
Total (all out, 58 overs) 74
Australians bowling
Trumble 29 12 24 9
Trott 28.4 8 47 8
Australians first innings
JJ Lyons b Kenney 47
AC Bannerman c Grylls b Kenney 14
G Giffen c Kenney b Stuart 11
*GHS Trott c Codd b Kenney 23
W Bruce b Kenney 109
SE Gregory run out 14
H Graham c Atkinson b Kenney 14
H Trumble c Codd b Jenner 30
A Coningham not out 23
+JM Blackham did not bat
RW McLeod did not bat
Extras 17
Total (8 wickets, declared, 97 overs) 302
Detroit bowling Overs
Roberts 12 1 64 0
Stuart 20 5 33 1
Codd 11 0 32 0
Dale 17 5 31 0
Kenney 22 6 76 5
Jenner 10 2 19 1
Pickering 3 0 10 0
MacPherson 2 0 20 0
Detroit second innings
T Jenner b Giffen 2
A MacPherson b Giffen 23
CB Calvert c Gregory b Giffen 3
WJ Kenney b Giffen 0
HJM Grylls b Trott 0
C Atkinson st Blackham b Trott 4
Pickering b Trott 3
GP Codd b Trott 9
RH Roberts b Trott 4
J Horstead st Blackham b Trott 0
JC Stuart b Trott 0
T Dale b Trott 6
FG Bamford st Blackham b Giffen 0
L Butzel b Giffen 11
AH Kessler b Giffen 0
JO Hibbard st Blackham b Trott 2
FH Holt st Blackham b Giffen 1
JJ Dodds not out 0
Extras 3
Total (all out, 35.3 overs) 71
Australians bowling
Giffen 18 6 39 8
Trott 17.3 2 29 9
P.S. On 16th and 17th October, the
visitors played Canada in Toronto where they inflicted a massive defeat
over the hosts by a margin of an innings and 70 runs.