James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual 1898

T H EP H I L A D E L P H I A N S I N E G L A N D . 2 5 C H A P T E R I I. T H EP H I L A D E L P H I A N S I N E N G L A N . B YA S E C R E T A R Y . THATthe visit of a Philadelphian team could excite the same amountof interest that attaches to the doings of an Australian combination in England was, of course , not to be expected . The conditions in the two cases are widely different . Australian cricketers have at least been able to hold their own against the pick of England throughout . On the other hand, cricket in the United States has had to make its way in the face of every possible difficulty , and, in view of the fact that it has had only very limited support , and that confined to one or two particular districts , it speaks volumes for the energy of the cricket fathers in Americathat the gamehas been able to maintain its ground as it has . In estimating the performances of the Philadelphian teamin England last summerit is essential to take into consideration the position cricket occupies in that city at the moment. In the first place , it must be rememberedthat Americansare a busy people. Mostof the cricketers from w h o mthe teamwhich visited Englandin 1897 had to be selected are in business of one sort or another . Their oppor- tunities for practice are infrequent , and their chances of playing in matches few. But, more than that , it must be taken into account that the Philadelphians have, all told , at the very outside some two hundred m e n w h oc a nbe called cricketers in the strict sense of the w o r d. T o send anything like a representative team to England under such conditions it will therefore be readily understood is a matter of the greatest difficulty . It is not an easy thing for menengaged in business , under the most fortunate circumstances , to get away for eight or ten weeks . Still , the leaders of cricket in Philadelphia felt that it would tend to the development of the game, as well as to the improvement of the play generally , if the pick of their cricketers had an opportunity of testing their mettle against the best of English players . The object of the tour was purely educational -to improve the tone of Philadelphian cricket by an experience of the best methods of English cricketers . Hence it was decided to undertake a programme of a much more pretentious character than had been carried out bythe two teams which Philadelphia had previously sent to England. In all fifteen matches were arranged , and all of these were strictly first -class fixtures . With ordinarily favourable circumstances , even with such an arduous task before them, the Philadelphians might have come fairly well out of the ordeal . As it was, it m a ybe premised that they had not their full strength . To commence with , Messrs . Noble , E. W. Clark , and Walter Scott , three of the best all -round exponents of the game in Philadelphia , were unable to take the trip to England after all . Whenthe tour was begun , too , bad luck followed them pretty well throughout . The weather in the earlier matches was most disagreeable , and affected more than one m e m b e rof the party to such an extent that they were hardly ever seen at their best subsequently . Then, again , they were certainly unlucky on the wholein losing the toss , and, in respect of the wickets , were on several