Scotland v Canada 18 & 19 July 1887 by Cricket Scotland

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Ground:	Raeburn Place, Edinburgh
Scorecard:	Gentlemen of Scotland v Gentlemen of Canada
Event:	Gentlemen of Canada in British Isles 1887

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DateLine: 2nd February 2013

 

 

Day 1:
This, the first of the two matches which will contribute the Scottish Cricket week at Raeburn Place, was begun yesterday in charming weather, and will be concluded today. The attendance was very good and the grand stand which had been erected west of the pavilion was well patronised.

 

The Scottish team (for whom Mr L.M. Balfour won the toss, and who batted first) completed an innings of 253. A.O. Mackenzie played faultlessly for the top score of 67, and this is the more noticeable from the fact that the Lasswade cricketer was not one of the originally chosen team, but was called in when it was found that Mr A.G.G. Asher would be unable to play.

 

The fielding of the Canadians was splendid, W.A. Henry the old Merchiston boy being especially deserving of mention in this department as is also his batting in the latter part of the day. The Canadians, with two hours to play, lost seven wickets for 138, Henry being not out with 76 to his credit. He was, however, missed when he had only scored 22, and this mistake has thus proved an expensive one for the Scotsmen.

 

At 12.10 Messrs L.M. Balfour and R.J. Pope went to the wickets to face the bowling of Messrs R.B. Ferrie at the farm end and A Gillespie at the pavilion end. The Scottish captain, after scoring a single off Ferrie, got that bowler prettily to the leg boundary (4), while off the same bowler the Australasian realised 4 for a fine back cut, which went to the boundary close to the pavilion. Balfour hit another boundary to the leg off Ferrie in that bowler's fourth over, but with the last ball of that over the Grange man was clean bowled with the total at 20.

 

H.J. Stevenson came next but with three runs added a ball from Gillespie carried destruction to his stumps, two for 23. J.G. Walker joined Pope, who on-drove Gillespie for 4 while the Middlesex batsman got Ferrie to leg for a brace. The Australasian captain next cut Gillespie to the boundary and Walker did the same to Ferrie for 3.

 

At 37 Ogden, the Canadian captain, relieved Gillespie at the pavilion end and Walker cut his second ball to the boundary. Walker gave a difficult chance off Ogden in the slips, which Ferrie tried with his left hand, but failed to get. Pope then cut the Canadian captain to the boundary and cut Ferrie for a couple, but in the same over the Australasian played a ball onto his wickets at 51, the telegraph reading 51-3-20.

 

T.R. Marshall, the veteran Grange cricketer, joined Walker, and placed Ferrie nicely to the on for a brace. C.J. Annand for Ogden was the order at 60, and Marshall got his first ball to the off for a couple, and his last past cover to the boundary. Seventy appeared as the result of a leg hit by the Grange man off Annand, the ball going to the boundary. The same batsmen repeated the hit in the same bowler's next over, and as this made 16 runs off Annand's three overs, Gillespie bowled in his place with the total at 76.

 

Ferrie had bowled four successive maidens, but Walker then drove him straight for 3. Marshall after cutting Ferrie's second ball through slips to the boundary, was well taken at mid-on, close in off the last ball. 83-4-27. Marshall's score was got very quickly, his last four hits all being 4's.

 

A.O. Mackenzie, after a single, got Ferrie to leg to the tennis-house boundary, while Walker cut successive balls from Gillespie for 2 and 4 (boundary) and on drove Grove his last for a couple, the over realising 2. Mackenzie brought up the three figures by a lucky boundary through slips off Ferrie. The old Merchiston boy, W.A. Henry, was cheered for a smart bit of fielding at mid off. Walker hit Ferrie square to the boundary, and cup Gillespie also to the boundary. At 114, however, a beauty from Ferrie completely beat walker and bowled him. The Middlesex man in the course of his innings hit four 4's and two 3's.

 

R.H. Johnston came in, and Ogden relieved Gillespie at the pavilion end, but with the score on 122 the lunch bell rang. There was a perceptible increase in the number of spectators when the game was resumed at 2.50.

 

At 124 Johnston was caught at cover, and J.H. Le Messurier came in. Mackenzie had a couple of boundaries and at 146 A.C. Allan was tried. The change proved successful, the new bowler dismissing the Craigmount representative with his second ball. A.R. Don Wauchope came in and the cut Allan through slips to the boundary, and past point for 4 (all run). Scoring ruled very slowly, but the Fettesian broke the spell by cutting Allan through slips for 3, and off driving Ferrie to the boundary.

 

At 180 Wauchope was clean bowled. R. Macnair came in and opened with a lucky snick for 3 off Allan, whom Mackenzie off-drove for a like amount. Two hundred appeared amid cheers at 3.55 and just afterwards Mackenzie gained his 50 by a boundary to leg off Ferrie. The score was raised slowly, singles being the order of the day, and at 215 Gillespie came on for the first time since the start. Macnair then hit Allan twice to the on for 4's in one over, and Annand came on in place of that bowler at 224.

 

The separation, however, came from the other end as Macnair was finely taken at point by Little, who stands very close in, at 226, and G. Thornton brought up the rear. The new-comer hit Gillespie square to the boundary and Mackenzie did the same to the other bowler. Thornton brought 250 on the board by another square leg boundary hit off Gillespie. The game was stopped for a few minutes by Thornton getting hurt, and off the next ball the Lasswade man was caught at short-leg, the innings concluding for 253. Thornton carried out his bat for 14 while in Mackenzie's score there were eleven 4's.

 

The visitors opened at five o'clock with Messrs W.W. Vickers and G.W. Jones to the bowling of G. Thornton and L.H. Le Messurier. Vickers began with a brace to the on off the Craigmount player, but Thornton sent down three maidens before Jones cut him grandly past point to the boundary. With 18 up Vickers got his leg in front of one of Thornton's and 8 later the Canadian captain was dismissed by the same bowler without scoring.

 

A. Gillespie came in but an unfortunate misunderstanding between him and Jones caused the latter to be run out on 33. With W.A. Henry in, Gillespie drove Thornton to the on boundary, but that batsman was clean bowled at 43, making four wickets down. Three later Allan was clean bowled and C.J. Annand came in.

 

Henry had a couple of 3's and then scored 4 to the leg boundary off Thornton. Annand on-drove Messurier to the boundary, and Henry on-drove and off-drove Thornton in the next over, both to the boundary. Messurier took a good catch from Annand off his own bowling at 71- 6; and immediately afterwards Pope missed Henry at mid-off at the same total. R. Macnair took the place of Le Messurier at 76, and Little brought out 80 by a forward cut for 3 off the University trundler. Henry off-drove Thornton to the ropes and hit Macnair to the on for 3. He next drove Thornton high to the on for 4, the ball landing beyond the ropes and bounding over the wall.

 

H.J. Stevenson took the place of Macnair at the pavilion end and at 90, and in Thornton's next over the Merchistonian brought out the hundred by hitting Thornton to the leg boundary. In the underhand bowler's next over Henry gained his 50 by on-driving to the boundary his first ball, while his last was also sent to the boundary by the same batsman. Henry off-drove the third ball of Stevenson's next over to the boundary.

 

Macnair relieved Thornton, but Henry hit him twice to the boundary in his first over, while Le Messurier came on at this stage for Stevenson. Henry had a 4 to leg of Macnair's next over, but in Messurier' s next Macnair took a splendid one-handed catch in the slips at 133. Little was at the wickets for forty five minutes for his four runs and during his stay 62 runs were put on. After W.W. Jones came in Henry cut Macnair to the boundary, but after an over from Le Messurier time was called.

 

Day 2:
The Canadians made such a poor show in the second day's play of this match that at the end of the visitors second innings the Scotsmen were left with only 6 runs to win, a number which they easily put together without the loss of a wicket.

 

On Monday the home team completed an innings for 253 while the Canadians had lost seven wickets for 138. The other two players (Saunders being unable to bat) did almost nothing and the innings closed for 146.

 

The second innings appeared rather in nature of a collapse (although Henry and Allan looked like making a stand when they were together), and closed for 112. The fielding of the Scottish eleven was very good, Mackenzie and Macnair each taking a very fine catch, while R.H. Johnston was very prominent in the long field, his speed saving numerous runs.

 

A return match was then started, Scotland going first to the wickets, but so well did the batsmen play that the Canadians did not get another opportunity of displaying their batting prowess. J.G. Walker played the best cricket of the two days while he was at the wickets and his 92 not out was really a treat to witness, not a chance being given by him during the innings.

 

Play was resumed at eleven o'clock yesterday morning, Thornton and Le Messurier bowling. With 8 runs added to the overnight total, Jones was taken in the slips, and at the same total the Merchistonian was got in the same field. As Saunders, one of the visitors' best batsmen, could not bat, the innings thus closed for 147, leaving the Canadians 107 behind. This necessitated a follow-on.

 

Henry's score was got by hard hitting, his 76 containing no less than thirteen 4's. Messrs W.W. Vickers and G.W. Jones opened the second innings of the Canadians to the bowling of Messrs G. Thornton and J.H. Le Messurier. With ten runs up, Thornton sent back Vickers, and Gillespie came in. He and Jones made it lively for a time, but at 32 the Merchistonian was bowled, he being followed to the pavilion at the same total by Gillespie, who was well held at point.

 

W.A. Henry, on being joined by Allan started hitting in the same manner as the previous day, and in about fifteen minutes the pair had put on 30 runs, Henry getting 5 for soft play to cover-point which Wauchope overthrew, while both had several hits to the boundary. Allan, who is a left-hand batsman, on-drove the Craigmount bowler right over the grandstand for 4. R. Macnair relieved Le Messurier at the pavilion end at 78, and Henry cut his first ball past cover to the boundary.

 

The pair had now put on 50 runs, but at 82 a splendid one handed catch at mid-on dismissed Henry off the third ball of Macnair's second over. Henry's 29 only embraced one single. When the Canadian captain (Ogden) came in, the rather rare spectacle of two left hand batsmen opposing two left-hand bowlers was seen. Sixteen runs were put together, Ogden scoring 8 off one of Macnair's overs and then Thornton bowled Allan when the score wanted only a couple from being 100.

 

Le Messurier resumed bowling when W.C. Little came in, and the Canadian captain brought out the 100 by off-driving him for a couple, Pope clearly saving a 4. Little, after a lot of slow play, was taken at the wickets 3 runs after the century had gone up, 6 for 103. Balfour had an unsuccessful attempt at stumping Annand but off the next ball he had another try and was this time successful -seven for 104.

 

Off Thornton's last seven overs only one run had been scored, and he had two wickets in seven. With two runs wanted to save the innings defeat, W Jones was caught in slips-eight for 105. At the same total Ogden was bowled by a rare ball from the University trundler. Although very lame, Saunders went in to bat with a substitute to run for him and as he got a single to leg off Thornton, one only was wanted to save the innings when he faced Le Messurier.

 

Off the second ball of the over, however, Saunders scored a single past point and thus saved the innings defeat. Ferrie had a nice back cut through slips off Le Messurier for 3, bringing out 110, but just before lunch Thornton clean bowled Ferrie at 112 and the Scotsmen were left with six runs to win the match.

 

Messrs R.J. Pope and A.O. Mackenzie went in at 3.5 and in four overs from Ogden and Ferrie the runs had been hit off, Pope scoring the winning hit off Ogden, an off drive to the boundary. Scotland thus won by ten wickets.

(Article: Copyright © 2013 Cricket Scotland http://cricketscotland.com)