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Thirty-three years before the first ever Test match was staged, which would commence the game’s most celebrated rivalry, international cricket was born in a part of the world that is not known for it’s love of our great game. In September 1844 at the St George’s Cricket Club, at Bloomingdale Park, New York City, the United States hosted Canada in the first ever international cricket fixture. The history books show that the Canadians triumphed by 23 runs. An estimated crowd of between 5,000-20,000 spectators are reported to have been in attendance, with vast amounts of money gambled on the result.

The first ever international cricket match - played between the United States and Canada in 1844 did not enjoy the technology associated with the game today!

At the time, cricket was reported to be the most popular sport in America, a sport which seem to slowly slide into the shadows of baseball, which had emerged as the premier sport by 1900. In Canada, a similar story unfolded with ice hockey becoming a national obsession, which remains the case to this day. The most celebrated cricketer from this period was John Barton King, from Philadelphia. King would be part of the American team who famously turned over a touring Australian side, returning home after the ashes tour of 1893. Sir Pelham Warner would describe King as “one of the finest bowlers of all time.” Sir Donald Bradman called him “America’s greatest cricketing son.”   

Fast forward to 1965 and the birth of the International Cricket Council, which had existed from 1909 as the Imperial Cricket Conference. The United States came on board in the same year, with the Canadians joining the ranks in 1968. Both are currently Associate members, with Canada having earned ODI & T20I status. Both teams took part in the inaugural Intercontinental Cup in 2004, and played a match against each other. The Canadians won, thanks largely to the efforts of John Davison, who recorded match bowling figures of 17 for 137, the best bowling figures in first-class cricket since Jim Laker’s effort against the Aussies in 1956! Canada finished runner’s-up to Scotland in that tournament, and have played in every Intercontinental Cup since, where-as the Americans made only the one appearance.   

In the 35 year history of the cricket World Cup, Canada has made three appearances, in 1975, 2003 and 2007; earning a famous victory against Bangladesh in 2003. In that same World Cup, John Davison registered a then World Cup record of fastest century, against the West Indies. The men in red will be competing in the next World Cup in 2011.

John Davison went on a rampage against the West Indies in the 2003 World Cup, and registered an unlikely record!

Top flight international competition for the Americans came in 2004, with an appearance in the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy, thanks to winning the ICC 6 Nations Challenge, a tournament that the Americans only came into when Kenya were unavailable, and one that hasn’t been staged since. The USA, led by Jamaican born Richard Staple, went on to be absolutely hammered by both New Zealand and Australia. The experience to such exposure counted for little, when the ICC invoked a short-lived suspension when the USCA seemed to implode from within. Under the watchful eye of the WICB, the United States appears to have ironed out its problems and have been moving forward ever since.  

With T20 taking the cricket world by storm, both Canada and the United States look to be further establishing their place at the table. Cricket Canada staged the Scotiabank National T20 Championship in 2008, with Ontario B claiming the only title to date. An ICL backed venture was reported to be happening in the US, only to go by the wayside when the wheels began to fall of the rebel Indian competition. The IPL and ICC have both since announced aspirations to get a T20 league off the ground in the coverted American market. It remains to be seen if this will happen any time soon.

So what does the future hold in the first, and last frontier of the game we love? In Canada, cricket is the fastest growing sport in the country, fuelled mostly by the large population of immigrants from Test match playing nations. The United States has the largest number of registered cricketers outside the Test world. Both countries have taken part in domestic competitions in the West Indies at different times. Both are currently competing in the World Youth Cup in New Zealand. Both countries will be taking part in the T20 World Championship qualifying tournament in the UAE. With T20 cricket apparently now the rage, will this new form of the game bring in teams who have traditionally been left out in the cold? Will the oldest frontier of international cricket become our newest? Only time will tell. 

Tags: Canada, John Davison, Test Cricket, USA

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 17th, 2010 at 6:42 pm and is filed under from_the_stands. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.