James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual 1886

1 7 8 L I L L Y W H I T E ' SC R I C K E T E R S ' A N N U A L. C H A P T E R 1 V. T H EE N G L I S HA M A T E U R S I N A M E R I C A . O NAugust20 a team of English amateurs sailed from Liverpool in the White Star Line steamer " Adriatic " for N e wYork, for a cricket tour in the United States and Canada. They were twelve in all , including Mr. E. J. Sanders , an old Harrovian and Cantab well -known in connection with Devonshire cricket , who was the originator of, and had made all the arrangements for , the trip . Thetwelve was a fairly strong one, consisting of, in addition to Mr. Sanders , Messrs . W. E. Roller and Horner, of Surrey ; R. T. and A. J. Thornton . and T. R. Hine- Haycock, of Kent ; J. A. Turner , of Cambridge University ; A. R. Cobb , A. E. Newton, H. O. Whitby, W. E. Bolitho , of Oxford ; and H. Bruen, an Irish amateur, and a slow , round-arm bowler of no meancapacity . Reaching N e wYork on August 29, the Englishmen were soon at work, and their first match, at Staten Island , was begun on September 1. Time in all probability prevented the attainment of a victory in the opening fixture , and the game wasdrawa certainly in favour of Mr. Sanders ' Twelve. The Fifteen of the Peninsular Club at Detroit made a very poor show, and were only able to score 118 runs in their two innings . Norwere the two matches which followed at Toronto and Montreal respectively more exciting . The Canadian Eleven at Toronto were in no way able to cope with the Englishmen , and Fifteen of Montreal fared even worse , being dismissed for paltry totals of 28 and 42. All NewYork, too , was beaten by an innings and 125 runs , and the only occasion on which the visitors were at all pressed , with the exception of the two contests against the Gentlemen of Philadelphia , was in the final match at Boston , when they gained a very creditable victory over Fifteen of N e wEngland, with only sixteen runs to spare . The two matches at Philadelphia were productive of the greatest excitement . In the first , the Philadelphians were able to win by 109 runs. Their success was thoroughly well deserved , as it was won by excellent all -round cricket , and it was the more gratifying to them as the first occasion on which an English team had been beaten in America. In the return , though, the Englishmen had a complete revenge , and they had the satisfaction of a much moredecisive victory , one due in a great measure to the fine batting of the Rev. R. T. Thornton , and Hine-Haycock, the effective bowling of Bruen, and the smart wicket-keeping of N e w t o n. O fthe eight matches played six were won, one drawn, and one lost . The team were unfortunate in losing the valuable services of Mr. Roller , who had hurt his arm badly , in the first match with the Philadelphians , and the loss of their best all -round player must have had great influence on the result . His cricket , indeed , was the most appreciated by the American critics , and he was of the greatest use. Mr. Newtonproved a great acquisition to the team both with the bat and at the wickets , and his hitting was as successful as his wicket- keeping, which wasexcellent throughout . The Captain , the Rev. R. T. Thornton, wassingularly unlucky in the early part of the tour, but got into form towards the finish , and his innings in the second matchagainst the Philadelphians was quite upto his best standard . Messrs . Cobb, Hine-Haycock, Turner, and A. J. Thornton all showed good cricket , and the lobs of the last -named were generally useful. In bowling , Mr. Bruen was invaluable , and his figures , as will be seen , were distinctly creditable . Mr. Horner was reliable , and , indeed , the bulk of the bowling devolved on the three named-Messrs . Bruen , Horner , and A. J. T h o r n t o n. Altogether the trip was a most enjoyable one , and the Englishmen brought