International
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The longest international rivalry in cricket, in fact in any sport is that between Canada and the USA, with the first match (won by Canada) played in 1844.
It has been continually reported, in Canada, that the earliest international athletic contest, of the modern era, was established in 1844 when Canada and the United States played at cricket at the Saint George's Club in New York for a wager of $1,000.00. It should be noted that in The Cricketer's Guide, (1858), it is recorded that The Canada match began in friendly encounters between the Toronto and Saint George's (New York) clubs in 1844. The Match first assumed its present godly proportions of Canada vs. the United States in 1853.
As with all matters related to cricket, there is always more than one version of events, but we prefer the American version of the first Canada vs. USA International as described by Das as in the following:
The match in 1844 at Bloomingdale in New York, came about because in 1843, a New York team had landed penniless in Toronto and were fully financed and entertained by their magnanimous hosts. In order to honor this Canadian gesture, the New Yorkers invited the Canadians to play in New York. The US team was drawn from several New York clubs, and also included players from the Philadelphia, DC, and Boston (the other centers of US cricket at the time). The Canadians, too, tried to come up with a representative team. All the posters and advertisements of the match from that period, which are available in cricket libraries, refer to a "Canadian vs. USA" match, not a New York vs. Toronto fixture. There were about 20,000 spectators at the match, and bets of around $120,000 (close to $1.5 million in todayÆs currency) were placed on the outcome. By any reckoning, therefore, this has to be recorded as an international fixture and a major one at that, surpassing many sporting events of that time.
SCORECARD: CANADA vs USA
September 24-25, 1844
First ever match at St George Cricket Club Ground, Manhattan, New York
| Toss: | USA |
| Umpires: | H Russel and Walker |
| Canada 1st innings | Runs | ||
| D Winckworth | run out | 12 | |
| J Wilson | b Wright | 0 | |
| Birch | c Bage | 5 | |
| GA Barber | b Wright | 1 | |
| Sharpe | b Wright | 12 | |
| GA Phillpotts | lbw | b Groom | 1 |
| JB Robinson | lbw | 1 | |
| HJ Maddock | not out | 7 | |
| Freeling | c Dudson | 12 | |
| French | b Groom | 9 | |
| Thompson | b Wright | 5 | |
| Extras | (b 11, w 6) | 17 | |
| Total | (all out) | 82 |
| USA 1st innings | Runs | ||
| J Turner | b Winckworth | 7 | |
| G Wheathcroft | b Winckworth | 9 | |
| J Ticknor | lbw | 0 | |
| J Symes | c Thompson | 1 | |
| H Groom | c Thompson | 0 | |
| R Bage | not out | 1 | |
| R Ticknor | b Thompson | 5 | |
| S Wright | c Barber | 4 | |
| RN Tinson | st Philpotts | 14 | |
| S Dudson | c Freeling | 4 | |
| Wild | b Winckworth | 10 | |
| Extras | (b 7, w 2) | 9 | |
| Total | (all out) | 64 |
| Canada 2nd innings | Runs | ||
| D Winckworth | b Wright | 14 | |
| J Wilson | b Groom | 0 | |
| Birch | c Turner | 0 | |
| GA Barber | b Groom | 3 | |
| Sharpe | b Groom | 5 | |
| GA Phillpotts | b Wright | 13 | |
| JB Robinson | b Wright | 4 | |
| HJ Maddock | b groom | 7 | |
| Freeling | not out | 7 | |
| French | b Wright | 0 | |
| Thompson | lbw | 3 | |
| Extras | (w 7) | 7 | |
| Total | (all out) | 63 |
| USA 2nd innings | Runs | ||
| J Turner | c Barber | b Sharpe | 14 |
| J Ticknor | b Sharpe | 0 | |
| J Symes | b Sharpe | 11 | |
| H Groom | b Winckworth | 0 | |
| R Bage | not out | 5 | |
| R Ticknor | b Sharpe | 8 | |
| S Wright | b French | 3 | |
| RN Tinson | lbw | b Sharpe | 0 |
| S Dudson | c Winckworth | b Sharpe | 0 |
| Wild | c Maddock | 8 | |
| G Wheathcroft* | absent | - | |
| Extras | (b 3, w 6) | 9 | |
| Total | (all out) | 58 | |
| *Wheatcroft failed to arrive in time to bat in 2nd innings | |||
The competition finds itself much neglected going into the 21st Century. In 2002 the headline on the CCA wepage said it all. Canada vs USA match cancelled due to lack of sponsorship.
September 24-25, 1844
USA vs Canada, New York
The oldest international contest of them all
Canada 82 and 63 beat USA 64 and 58 by 23 runs
It is generally accepted that the match between USA v Canada in
September 1844 was the first international cricket fixture. The first
game between the two nations, played for a wager of US$ 1000, was
watched by 10,000 spectators at the St George's Club at Bloomingdale
Park in New York.
Those who dispute the 1844 date point to The Cricketer's Guide of 1858,
where it is recorded that "The Canada match ... began in friendly
encounters between the Toronto and St. George's (New York) Clubs .. in
1844. It first assumed its present goodly proportions of Canada v the
United States in 1853." But most people are happy that the 1844 match
was where international cricket started.
As with all matters related to cricket, there is always more than one
side to a story. The American version of the first Canada v USA
international is described by Deb Das as follows:-
"The match of 1844, at Bloomingdale Park in New York, came about
because in 1843, a New York team had landed penniless in Toronto and
were fully financed and entertained by their magnanimous hosts. In
order to honor this Canadian gesture, the New Yorkers invited the
Canadians to play in New York. The US team was drawn from several New
York clubs, and also included players from Philadelphia, DC, and Boston
(the other centers of US cricket at the time). The Canadians, too,
tried to come up with a representative team. All the posters and
advertisements of the match from that period, which are available in
cricket libraries, refer to a Canada v USA match, not a New York v
Toronto fixture.
"There were about 20,000 spectators at the match, and bets of around
$120,000 (close to $1.5 million in today's currency) were placed on the
outcome. By any reckoning, therefore, this has to be recorded as an
international fixture - and a major one at that, surpassing many
sporting events of that time."
The following Canadian version of the same event was written by Kevin Boller:-
"The match had taken place as the result of a hoax, perpetrated some
four years earlier by a certain Mr. Phillpotts who had invited the St.
Georges Cricket club of New York to visit Canada and play a friendly
game against the Toronto Cricket Club on the northern shores of Lake
Ontario. On the afternoon of August 28, 1840 eighteen travel- weary
members of the St. George's Club turned up in Toronto following an
exhausting journey through the state of New York by coach and across
Lake Ontario by steamer only to discover that the members of the
Toronto Cricket Club had no knowledge of any such cricket match.
"The sociable Mr. Phillpotts, who had originated the whole episode,
could not be located, which of course, came as no big surprise to
everyone involved. The officials of the Toronto Cricket Club felt most
uncomfortable about the whole state of affairs and as a result a
hastily called meeting was convened of members who could be rounded up
on short notice. Following some earnest discussion, a challenge match
was organized between the two clubs for a stake of fifty pounds ($250)
a side.
"Despite the hurried arrangements a sizeable number of spectators
turned out and the band of the 34th Regiment entertained the gathering.
His Excellency the Governor of Upper Canada, Sir George Arthur added a
regal touch to the occasion by putting in an appearance. Following the
match which the New Yorkers won by 10 wickets, a gala dinner was held
and judging by press accounts of the day a great time was had by all.
Fortunately out of this confusion a rapport developed between the St.
George's Club and the Toronto Cricket Club and as a result plans
evolved for the historical encounter between the two countries at New
York in 1844. The match was played for a stake of $1,000 on September
24-25 at the grounds of the St. George's Club. The Toronto Herald
reported the crowd to be about 5000 and as much as $100,000 depended on
the outcome".
Copyright Wisden Cricinfo Ltd
ICC Intercontinental Cup, 2004 Result: Canada won by 104 runs Toss: Canada Close of Play: Canada 1st innings
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Match Reports Team Pages: United States of America, Canada. Ground Page: Brian Piccolo Park, Cooper City, Fort Lauderdale Canada Player Pages: D Chumney, JM Davison, Z Surkari, IS Billcliff, A Bagai, NA de Groot, H Dhillon, Sunil Dhaniram, Z Hussain, A Patel, E Sinnathamby. United States of America Player Pages: LC Romero, M Johnson, RW Staple, S Massiah, CA Reid, CB Lambert, Ajaz Ali, Z Amin, D Blake, Javed Nasir, HR Johnson. Match Officials' Pages: B Doctrove, N Malcolm, JJ Crowe. |
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