Canadian cricket: a brief history, part 2

In 1892, the Canadian Cricket Association was formed to control the game nationally. Ontario formed one of the earliest provincial associations in 1880, followed by Manitoba in 1895, Quebec in 1902, Alberta and Saskatchewan in 1910, British Columbia in 1922, Nova Scotia in 1967, and New Brunswick in 1980.

During the 1890s, Canada versus United States cricket matches gained popularity due to the emergence of two of the greatest all-rounders in North American cricket history: John Barton (Bart) King of the United States and John M. (Jack) Laing of Canada. These talented players dominated the local scene for nearly twenty years and were a huge draw for spectators.

King's performances with bat and ball were nothing short of spectacular. He humbled the best batsmen of England and Australia. In 1909, he took all ten wickets for the Gentlemen of Philadelphia in a fixture against Ireland, finishing with 10 for 33. In 1906, he set a North American batting record that still stands when he scored a mammoth 344 not out for Belmont against Merion. The previous season, he set the record by scoring 315 for Belmont against Germantown.

John M. Laing played for Canada in 13 matches against the United States, Ireland, Australia, and England. He took 77 wickets during his international career with his fast, swerving deliveries. Experts of the day considered him to be world-class.

During the 1895 match between the United States and Canada in Toronto, he achieved a remarkable feat by capturing 7 wickets for 21 runs in the first innings, recording the first hat-trick in the International Series. He clean bowled J.W. Sharp, S. Goodman, and L.K. Mallinckrodt. The following year, he surpassed his previous record by capturing 6 wickets for 17 runs and 8 wickets for 37 runs against the United States at Manheim, Pennsylvania. This performance set a Canadian bowling record that still stands today.

Laing was not only a capable bowler but also a skilled batsman. In 1903, while playing for Wanderers Cricket Club against Douglas Park Cricket Club in the Chicago competition, he scored 249 runs and, along with J.G. Davis who scored 103 not out, established a record partnership of 313 runs for the fourth wicket in North American cricket.

Despite the gathering clouds of war in Europe, Australia toured the United States and Canada in 1913 under the leadership of Austin Diamond. The team played an impressive 53 matches, suffering only one defeat at the hands of the Germantown Cricket Club of Philadelphia. The side included several cricket legends, such as Charlie Macartney, Warren Bardsley, Arthur Mailey, and Herbert Collins.

In a match against Vancouver, the Australian team scored 633 runs for the loss of 8 wickets, the highest innings total ever recorded in Canadian cricket. On the other hand, the Winnipeg Cricket Association was dismissed for only 6 runs by the Australian team, resulting in the lowest innings total in Canadian representative cricket. In 1846, during a match in New York, the Canadian team was dismissed for a dismal 28 runs by the United States, marking the lowest score by the national side.

Charlie Macartney had a spectacular tour, scoring a total of 2390 runs at an average of 45.92, including seven centuries. He also took 189 wickets at an average of 3.81 runs apiece. With tours of this magnitude unlikely to be undertaken in the future, this outstanding personal achievement may never be surpassed.

With the outbreak of the Great War in 1914, Canadian cricket's fortunes declined further. The International Series with America ended in 1912, and it would be twenty years before another major cricket tour of the country took place. After the First World War, the Honourable Norman Seagram, who came from a prominent Canadian family, assembled a strong national team, including Dominion stars H.G. Wookey and C.R. (Sandy) Sommerville, and made a highly successful tour of England in the 1922 season.

In 1932, the Australians arrived in England under the captaincy of Victor Richardson. Richardson's grandsons, Ian, Greg, and Trevor Chappell, would later become Australian cricket legends. The team included several notable international players, such as Stan McCabe, Charles (Chuck) Fleetwood-Smith, Arthur Mailey, and the famous Donald Bradman (later to become Sir Donald). Despite the ravages of the Great Depression, the tour was highly successful. During a match against Western Ontario at Guelph, the legendary Bradman scored 260 runs. This innings remained a Canadian record for 58 years until it was broken by right-handed batsman Don Maxwell, who scored 280 not out for York University Cricket Club against Commonwealth Cricket Club in the 1990 Toronto & District Cricket Association competition.

During a match played at St. Catharines, Ontario, between Ridley College and the touring Australians in 1932, L.C. (Clarke) Bell, a tall, hard-hitting left-hander, scored 109 not out, becoming the only player to score a century against the Australians during that tour. Bell went on to become one of the finest batsmen in Canadian cricket history, scoring a total of 16 centuries in his brief career.

His performances in the John Ross Robertson Trophy, which symbolises Canadian club supremacy, were nothing short of spectacular. In 25 innings at the crease, he scored 1401 runs, including 5 centuries. His personal best was 193 not out for the Toronto Cricket Club against the Bell Telegraph Cricket Club in 1930. His final average for the J.R.R. Trophy was an impressive 70.05 runs per innings.

 Unfortunately, Clarke Bell died during World War II at the Battle of Dieppe on August 19, 1942, just three days before his 32nd birthday. His death was a shock to the sporting community in Toronto, as he was an above-average boxer, rugby and ice hockey player, and had amassed a following over the years.

Another talented Canadian batsman that the Australians faced in 1932 was W.R.G. (Reg) Wenman of British Columbia. Reg Wenman, a dynamic right-hander, was likely the most prolific run-scorer in Canadian cricket history. Over a career spanning 40 years, he scored a record 37 centuries, including three in four days at the Western Canada Tournament held in Regina in 1929. The only cricketer in North America to have scored more centuries than Wenman was the American John Barton King, who scored 38.

Despite the challenges faced during the 1930s, Canada embarked on an ambitious tour of England in 1936 under the captaincy of W.E.N. (Billy) Bell. The team was assembled with the support of the Hon. R.C. Matthews, who had served as the Minister for National Revenue in the government of Prime Minister R.B. Bennett. Matthews was a key figure in Canadian cricket for many years prior to World War II. Canada made sporting history by defeating the M.C.C. at Lords, recording the first victory by a Canadian team over an English XI, winning by 76 runs.

A notable member of the 1936 Canadian team was all-rounder Lloyd Percivil, an expert in physical fitness. In later years, the USSR adopted his training techniques for ice hockey players, which helped the Soviets rise to world prominence. Also on the team was his brother Gordon, who, in 1931, scored a century in just 42 minutes while playing for the Yorkshire Cricket Club against the Rosedale Cricket Club in Toronto. In just 80 minutes, he compiled an impressive 177 runs, with the first 50 runs coming in only 17 minutes. In 1954, Allan, the third brother, toured England with the Canadian national side.

During the Canada versus USA series at Toronto in 1963, Ray Nascimento, an Ontario batsman, set a new individual batting record of 176 runs, surpassing the previous record of 111 runs set by the Rev. F.W. Terry in 1893. His impressive innings helped Canada achieve a record total of 6 for 403, which stood until 1985 when Canada scored 8 for 437, also against the United States in Toronto. The highest score ever made against Canada in a single innings is 374 runs for the loss of 8 wickets, which was scored by a Jamaican XI against Canada in Kingston during the 1984 tour by the Canadian national team.