Francis Bohlen scored 118 for Philadelphia in 4 hours. The wicket prepared was perfect and and an enormous crowd was witness to the great match on all days.

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1893 was a milestone year in the history of the Ashes.  The previous year, in 1891-92, for the first time ever, the Aussies had won the Ashes series 2-1.  [The 1882 test that the Australians won at the Oval is not considered part of The Ashes.] 

In the summer of 1893, the Australian cricketers led by Jack Blackham went to England convinced that they would win the away-series.   The pressure was on England to regain the Ashes - they had never lost a series at home!  

The 1893 tour marked what has been described as the "heartbeat of the Golden Age" of cricket and is catalogued in the book "The Prince and the Doctor - The 1893 Australian Tour to England and North America. "   After losing the Ashes series 0-1, the Australians crossed the Atlantic to play six matches in North America - five in USA and one against Canada. 

The Australians were picked up in Ellis Island (Jersey City) and transported to Philadelphia by private train and they played without any rest.  An event that in itself was worthy of a poem in the mind of one. 

‘Who was it that whipt the Australians?
Others' glory we don’t want to mar
But the victory was won and won nobly
By John Green with his fast private car.

It was in USA that the Australians had their worst game of the tour when they lost to Philadelphia by an innings and 68 runs.  Gentlemen of Philadelphia posted a record 525 (highest for an American team playing first class cricket - Philadelphia was considered a first class team).

Of course, excuses were made.   The Australians were tired after a long voyage across the seas.  Australian bowlers protested that they needed rest before the big match.  But Aussie captain Jack Blackham acceded to start of play and the match began after his approval.  He probably underrated his opponents and thought Australians would be steamrolling them. 

Was he surprised?   "You have better players here than we have been led to believe. They class with England's best," Blackham said before he left Philadelphia.

Francis H Bohlen scored 118 for Philadelphia in under 4 hours.  The wicket prepared was perfect and and an enormous crowd witnessed the great match on all days.

Pic (Right): Australia's Eighth Team that toured England and North America in 1893

George Patterson, the opening batsman for Philadelphia hit three fours in succession causing an uproar among the spectators.   He scored 56.  His opening partner Reynolds Driver Brown also started well but was well taken by the wicketkeeper off Trumble.   He made 23 and the score was 46 when the first wicket fell.  Soon after, Patterson misjudged a run and caused W. Scott to be run out.   After that, he himself was run out after another case of poor running between the wickets.    

Arthur Wood made things lively while he was at the wickets by scoring 40 at a rapid clip.   Then came the hard hitters Francis Bohlen and William Noble.   They did not undo their reputations and quickly got the tired Australians into some good old ball-chasing.  

Bohlen was not out on 82 and Noble was not out on 73 at the end of hte day.  While Bohlen went on to score a century, Noble fell adding just 4 runs to his overnight score.   The Americans put up a mammoth 525 first innings total.   When it was Australians’ turn to bat, by the end of Day 2, the Aussies were 125 for 4 wickets and the Americans were now guaranteed a draw if not an outright win. 

George Giffen with 60 not out stood in the way of Americans and a verdict.  What happened on Day 3 was beyond belief.   Not only did Giffen fall adding just 2 to his overnight score, the remaining Aussies collapsed like dominoes and were forced to follow on.  

Playing for pride, the Aussies now had to play the remaining 3 sessions without embarrassing themselves.   Aussie opener Alexander Bannerman (79*) did his best putting up a 40 run partnership of 40 runs with John Lyons (30) and a third wicket partnership of 94 runs with Trott (58). 

But the momentum was on the Americans’ side and they made sure nobody else would stay long enough with Bannerman.   Eventually, the Aussies lost by a mammoth margin of an innings and 68 runs.  

Thus began the career of Bart King, without doubt the best USA cricketer ever.  Although his score of 36 in Americans’ only innings was not spectacular, his five wicket haul in the first innings set the stage for the victory.  He followed that up with two middle-order wickets in the second innings.

The second match against New York and District Cricket Association was drawn.  Even though the New Yorkers were dismissed for a lackluster score of 103, a five wicket haul by Wright ensured that the Aussies were kept in check.   The New Yorkers held their nerve on Day 2 and ensured a draw.  Interestingly, this match was played in the Central Park!

The Australians were in need of a win after consecutive lackluster performances.  They got the victory they were hoping for in the third match, this time defeating the Gentlemen of Philadelphia by a 6 wicket margin. 

Having faced the strongest opposition in New York and Philadelphia, the Australians proceeded to Boston where they defeated Massachusetts by 8 wickets.  From there, they went to Toronto where they scored a stunning victory over Canada by an innings and 70 runs.  From Toronto, they went to Detroit on whom they inflicted an even bigger defeat of an innings and 157 runs.

September 29- October 2, 1893 - Philadelphia vs Australia

Belmont Cricket Club Ground, Philadelphia  (3-day match)  

Gentlemen of Philadelphia first innings  

*GS Patterson    run out    56                    
RD Brown    c Blackham b Trumble    23                     
W Scott    run out    8                    
AM Wood    b Bruce    40                    
FH Bohlen    c Trott b Bruce    118                     
WW Noble    b Trumble    77                    
HC Coates    lbw b Bruce    15                    
JW Muir    b Coningham    9                    
HI Brown    not out    59                    
+FW Ralston    run out    47                    
JB King    c Lyons b Bannerman    36                     
Extras    (17 b, 12 lb, 4 nb, 4 w)    37
Total    (all out, 169.1 overs)    525 

Fall of wickets:
1-46, 2-62, 3-124, 4-131, 5-311, 6-344, 7-353, 8-374, 9-464, 10-525 (169.1 ov) 

Australians bowling 

G Giffen    33       7    114    0     
Trumble    55       20    104    2     
Trott    15       3    45    0     
Coningham    20       5    63    1     
Lyons    11       4    34    0     
Bruce    20       3    100    3     
Gregory    12       5    27    0     
Bannerman    3.1    2    1    1     

Australians first innings 

AC Bannerman    c HI Brown b King    16                    
JJ Lyons    c Bohlen b Patterson    12                    
G Giffen    c Wood b King    62                    
GHS Trott    b King    0                    
W Bruce    c Wood b King    11                    
H Graham    run out    25                    
SE Gregory    c King b HI Brown    12                     
H Trumble    c Wood b HI Brown    1                    
WF Giffen    not out    18                    
A Coningham    b King    9                    
*+JM Blackham    b HI Brown    22                    
Extras    (6 b, 3 lb, 2 nb)    11
Total    (all out, 49.4 overs)    199 

Fall of wickets:
1-24, 2-29, 3-31, 4-67, 5-125, 6-146, 7-146, 8-149, 9-160, 10-199 (49.4 ov) 

Gentlemen of Philadelphia 
King    25       6    78    5     
Patterson    6       0    31    1     
HI Brown    12.4    3    41    3     
Scott    2       0    20    0     
RD Brown    4       0    18    0     

Australians second innings (following on)      

JJ Lyons    c Ralston b Patterson    30                    
AC Bannerman    not out    79                    
G Giffen    c Bohlen b HI Brown    1                    
GHS Trott    c Scott b Muir    58                    
W Bruce    c Bohlen b Muir    0                    
H Graham    c Muir b King    2                    
SE Gregory    c Coates b Scott    32                     
H Trumble    b King    0                    
WF Giffen    c Ralston b Scott    2                     
A Coningham    c Coates b Scott    30                     
*+JM Blackham    run out    6                    
Extras    (9 b, 5 lb, 3 nb, 1 w)    18
Total    (all out, 94.3 overs)    258 

Fall of wickets:
1-40, 2-41, 3-135, 4-139, 5-146, 6-201, 7-201, 8-208, 9-249, 10-258 (94.3 ov) 

Gentlemen of Philadelphia bowling 
King    32.3    5    90    2     
Patterson    17       4    48    1     
HI Brown    19       6    28    1     
Scott    11       1    41    3     
RD Brown    1       0    10    0     
Noble    5       2    9    0     
Muir    9       4    14    2

October 4th and 5th, 1893 - New York and District XVIII vs Australia XIII

Central Park, New York (2-day match)  

New York and District first innings 

AE Patterson    run out    3                    
RL Brown    b Trumble    7                    
H Tyers    b McLeod    3                    
FJ Prendergast    b Trumble    1                    
MR Cobb    run out    4                    
AS Durrant    c G Giffen b Trumble    5                     
RT Rokeby    b McLeod    4                    
Mattock    c Trumble b McLeod    0                    
AH Stratford    c Trott b Trumble    25                    
HN Townsend    c and b Trumble    1                    
SH Barton    c and b Trumble    0                    
HB Coyne    c G Giffen b Trumble    5                    
Wright    b Trumble    4                    
H MacNutt    c Jarvis b Trumble    7                     
CP Hurditch    run out    11                    
FWT Stiles    lbw b Bruce    9                    
TJ O'Reilly    b Trumble    1                    
WC Talbot    not out    1                    
Extras    (9 b, 2 lb, 1 nb)    12
Total    (all out, 76.2 overs)    103 

Fall of wickets:
1-7, 2-12, 3-15, 4-20, 5-24, 6-29, 7-33, 8-33, 9-36, 10-36, 11-62, 12-71, 13-78, 14-81, 15-98, 16-99, 17-103 (76.2 ov) 

Australians bowling 
McLeod    36       19    48    3     
Trumble    38       21    41    10     
Bruce    2.2    0    2    1     

Australians first innings  

AC Bannerman    b Wright    2                     
JJ Lyons    b Wright    8                     
G Giffen    c Durrant b Mattock    64                     
*GHS Trott    c Tyers b Wright    8                     
W Bruce    b Cobb    3                    
H Graham    c Townsend b Cobb    9                     
SE Gregory    lbw b Mattock    27                    
H Trumble    not out    59                    
WF Giffen    b Wright    15                    
RW McLeod    b Tyers    0                    
A Coningham    c Patterson b Tyers    0                     
+AH Jarvis    b Wright    1                    
JM Blackham    c Cobb b Durrant    5                     
Extras    (13 b, 2 lb)    15
Total    (all out, 98.3 overs)    216 

Fall of wickets:
1-4, 2-17, 3-35, 4-52, 5-66, 6-127, 7-139, 8-171, 9-176, 10-176, 11-189, 12-216 (98.3 ov) 

New York and District bowling 
Wright    27       7    76    5     
Cobb    25       9    43    2     
MacNutt    5       0    11    0     
Townsend    4       0    17    0     
Tyers    25       12    34    2     
Mattock    12       5    19    2     
Durrant    0.3    0    1    1     

New York and District second innings 

RL Brown    c G Giffen b Trott    11                    
H Tyers    c and b G Giffen    4                    
FJ Prendergast    c Coningham b G Giffen    5                     
MR Cobb    not out    35                    
AS Durrant    b McLeod    9                    
RT Rokeby    b Trott    4                    
Mattock    b G Giffen    0                    
AH Stratford    c Trumble b G Giffen    7                     
HN Townsend    b G Giffen    7                    
HB Coyne    b G Giffen    5                    
CP Hurditch    c Graham b G Giffen    1                     
FWT Stiles    c G Giffen b McLeod    2                     
WC Talbot    st Jarvis b McLeod    0                    
AE Patterson    did not bat     
SH Barton    did not bat     
Wright    did not bat     
H MacNutt    did not bat     
TJ O'Reilly    did not bat     
Extras    (6 b)    6
Total    (12 wickets, 46.4 overs)    96 

Fall of wickets:
1-9, 2-10, 3-16, 4-16, 5-24, 6-24, 7-38, 8-52, 9-65, 10-72, 11-83, 12-96 (46.4 ov) 

Australians bowling 
G Giffen    23.4    6    47    7     
McLeod    14       7    20    3     
Trott    9       1    23    2 

October 6th-9th, 1893 - Gentlemen of Philadelphia vs Australia

Germantown Cricket Club Ground, Manheim, Philadelphia on 6th, 7th, 9th October 1893 (3-day match)  

Gentlemen of Philadelphia first innings 

*GS Patterson    c G Giffen b McLeod    10                     
RD Brown    b Trumble    8                    
AM Wood    c Bruce b McLeod    2                     
FH Bohlen    b Trumble    33                    
WW Noble    b McLeod    2                    
HI Brown    c G Giffen b Trumble    0                    
EW Clark    b McLeod    4                    
+FW Ralston    st Blackham b Trumble    24                     
AG Thomson    c Bruce b Trumble    2                     
HP Baily    not out    19                    
JB King    c G Giffen b Trumble    6                     
Extras    (8 b, 1 w)    9
Total    (all out, 52.3 overs)    119

Fall of wickets:
1-16, 2-21, 3-21, 4-27, 5-36, 6-47, 7-85, 8-91, 9-97, 10-119 (52.3 ov) 

Australians bowling 
Trumble    26.3    9    48    6     
McLeod    26       10    62    4     

Australians first innings 

AC Bannerman    c Wood b Clark    12                     
JJ Lyons    c Baily b King    8                     
G Giffen    c Bohlen b Baily    38                     
GHS Trott    c Thomson b Baily    16                    
W Bruce    c HI Brown b Patterson    14                    
SE Gregory    c Wood b Patterson    8                    
H Graham    b Baily    1                    
H Trumble    c Baily b Patterson    14                     
RW McLeod    not out    4                    
WF Giffen    c HI Brown b Baily    20                    
*+JM Blackham    c Clark b Patterson    3                    
Extras    (10 b, 3 lb, 1 nb, 1 w)    15
Total    (all out, 60 overs)    153

Fall of wickets:
1-21, 2-37, 3-79, 4-83, 5-104, 6-106, 7-112, 8-122, 9-147, 10-153 (60 ov) 

Gentlemen of Philadelphia bowling 
Baily    26       8    56    4     
King    12       5    25    1     
Clark    4       0    18    1     
Patterson    18       3    39    4     

Gentlemen of Philadelphia second innings 

*GS Patterson    c Bannerman b Trumble    0                     
RD Brown    b Trumble    0                    
HP Baily    b Trumble    0                    
AM Wood    b Bruce    15                    
FH Bohlen    not out    54                    
WW Noble    b Trumble    6                    
AG Thomson    b Trumble    4                    
HI Brown    b Bruce    0                    
+FW Ralston    b Trumble    7                    
EW Clark    c Bruce b Trumble    5                    
JB King    lbw b McLeod    4                    
Extras    (9 b, 1 lb, 1 nb)    11
Total    (all out, 37.2 overs)    106

Fall of wickets:
1-0, 2-0, 3-7, 4-24, 5-33, 6-37, 7-38, 8-45, 9-91, 10-106 (37.2 ov) 

Australians bowling 
Trumble    19       4    48    7     
McLeod    11.2    4    29    1     
Bruce    7       1    18    2     

Australians second innings 

JJ Lyons    b Baily    7                    
AC Bannerman    not out    13                    
GHS Trott    c Ralston b Baily    12                    
G Giffen    c HI Brown b King    1                    
W Bruce    c Wood b Baily    1                    
SE Gregory    not out    36                    
H Graham    did not bat     
H Trumble    did not bat     
RW McLeod    did not bat     
WF Giffen    did not bat     
*+JM Blackham    did not bat     
Extras    (2 b, 1 nb)    3
Total    (4 wickets, 29.1 overs)    73

Fall of wickets:
1-7, 2-22, 3-25, 4-26 

Gentlemen of Philadelphia bowling 
Baily    11       3    28    3     
King    10.1    2    30    1     
Clark    6       2    11    0     
Patterson    2       1    1    0     
   

October 11th - 13th, 1893 - Massachusetts XVIII vs Australia XII

Baseball Ground, Boston 

Massachusetts first innings 

R Cracknell    b McLeod    3                     
JJ Heys    b Coningham    3                     
J Keen    b Trott    24                    
R Fairburn    b G Giffen    11                    
J Howard    b G Giffen    6                    
JI Chambers    c Blackham b Trott    5                     
F Fairburn    b Trott    0                    
CL Bixby    hit wkt b G Giffen    2                     
C Hunter    c G Giffen b Trott    0                    
L Mansfield    b Trott    2                    
T Pettitt    b G Giffen    3                    
G Wright    c G Giffen b Trott    1                     
MK Gordon    c Coningham b G Giffen    4                     
JB Newkirk    b G Giffen    0                    
+DJ Bruce    c Jarvis b G Giffen    0                     
JW Dutton    st Jarvis b Trott    1                    
AS Shepherdson    not out    7                    
R Turner    b Trott    4                    
Extras    (11 b, 1 lb)    12
Total    (all out, 71.1 overs)    88 

Australians bowling 
Trumble    15       12    6    0
McLeod    10       7    3    1     
Coningham    9       3    16    1     
G Giffen    21       7    30    7     
Gregory    3       2    1    0     
Trott    13.1    5    20    8     

Australians first innings 

AC Bannerman    b Cracknell    1                     
JJ Lyons    b Chambers    4                     
G Giffen    st Bruce b Chambers    3                     
*GHS Trott    b Cracknell    22                     
SE Gregory    b Chambers    3                    
H Graham    b Chambers    7                    
H Trumble    b Chambers    3                    
WF Giffen    c Hunter b Chambers    8                     
A Coningham    b Cracknell    7                    
+AH Jarvis    b Chambers    1                    
RW McLeod    not out    0                    
JM Blackham    b Cracknell    0                    
Extras    (5 b, 1 nb)    6
Total    (all out, 29 overs)    65 

Massachusetts bowling 
Cracknell    15       4    29    4     
Chambers    14       5    30    7     

Massachusetts second innings 

R Cracknell    c Blackham b G Giffen    1                     
JJ Heys    b Trott    2                    
J Keen    c Blackham b G Giffen    1                     
R Fairburn    b Trott    6                    
J Howard    c Blackham b G Giffen    0                     
JI Chambers    b G Giffen    0                    
F Fairburn    b Trott    2                    
CL Bixby    b Trott    0                    
C Hunter    c Graham b G Giffen    0                     
L Mansfield    b Trott    1                    
T Pettitt    b Trott    0                    
G Wright    c Gregory b Trott    4                     
MK Gordon    not out    0                    
JB Newkirk    st Jarvis b Trott    1                    
+DJ Bruce    st Jarvis b Trott    0                    
JW Dutton    c Trumble b G Giffen    0                    
AS Shepherdson    c Blackham b G Giffen    5                     
R Turner    b Trott    0                    
Extras    (3 b, 1 lb)    4
Total    (all out, 24.2 overs)    27 

Australians bowling 
G Giffen    12       6    18    7     
Trott    12.2    9    5    10     

Australians second innings 

AC Bannerman    c Hunter b Cracknell    4                     
JJ Lyons    b Wright    25                    
G Giffen    b Cracknell    9                    
*GHS Trott    not out    8                    
SE Gregory    not out    2                    
H Graham    did not bat     
H Trumble    did not bat     
WF Giffen    did not bat     
A Coningham    did not bat     
+AH Jarvis    did not bat     
RW McLeod    did not bat     
JM Blackham    did not bat     
Extras    (3 b, 1 lb)    4
Total    (3 wickets, 18 overs)    52 

Massachusetts bowling 

Cracknell    9       0    23    2     
Chambers    8       1    19    0     
Wright    1       0    6    1     
   

October 18th and 19th, 1893 - Detroit XVIII vs Australian XI

Detroit Athletic Club Ground (2-day match)  

Detroit first innings 

T Jenner    st Blackham b Trott    0                     
A MacPherson    c and b Trumble    14                     
CB Calvert    b Trott    1                    
WJ Kenney    c Coningham b Trott    3                     
HJM Grylls    b Trott    2                    
C Atkinson    b Trumble    0                    
Pickering    b Trumble    16                    
GP Codd    c Trumble b Trott    9                     
RH Roberts    b Trumble    1                    
J Horstead    c Graham b Trumble    4                     
JC Stuart    b Trott    5                    
T Dale    c Graham b Trumble    6                     
FG Bamford    b Trott    0                    
L Butzel    st Blackham b Trumble    4                     
AH Kessler    not out    3                    
JO Hibbard    b Trumble    3                    
FH Holt    b Trumble    0                    
JJ Dodds    c and b Trott    0                    
Extras        3
Total    (all out, 58 overs)    74 

Australians bowling 
Trumble    29       12    24    9     
Trott    28.4    8    47    8     

Australians first innings 

JJ Lyons    b Kenney    47                     
AC Bannerman    c Grylls b Kenney    14                     
G Giffen    c Kenney b Stuart    11                     
*GHS Trott    c Codd b Kenney    23                     
W Bruce    b Kenney    109                    
SE Gregory    run out    14                    
H Graham    c Atkinson b Kenney    14                    
H Trumble    c Codd b Jenner    30                    
A Coningham    not out    23                    
+JM Blackham    did not bat     
RW McLeod    did not bat     
Extras        17
Total    (8 wickets, declared, 97 overs)    302 

Detroit bowling    Overs 
Roberts    12       1    64    0     
Stuart    20       5    33    1     
Codd    11       0    32    0     
Dale    17       5    31    0     
Kenney    22       6    76    5     
Jenner    10       2    19    1     
Pickering    3       0    10    0     
MacPherson    2       0    20    0     

Detroit second innings 

T Jenner    b Giffen    2                     
A MacPherson    b Giffen    23                     
CB Calvert    c Gregory b Giffen    3                     
WJ Kenney    b Giffen    0                    
HJM Grylls    b Trott    0                    
C Atkinson    st Blackham b Trott    4                     
Pickering    b Trott    3                    
GP Codd    b Trott    9                    
RH Roberts    b Trott    4                    
J Horstead    st Blackham b Trott    0                     
JC Stuart    b Trott    0                    
T Dale    b Trott    6                    
FG Bamford    st Blackham b Giffen    0                     
L Butzel    b Giffen    11                    
AH Kessler    b Giffen    0                    
JO Hibbard    st Blackham b Trott    2                     
FH Holt    st Blackham b Giffen    1                    
JJ Dodds    not out    0                    
Extras        3
Total    (all out, 35.3 overs)    71 

Australians bowling 
Giffen    18       6    39    8     
Trott    17.3    2    29    9     
 

P.S. On 16th and 17th October, the visitors played Canada in Toronto where they inflicted a massive defeat over the hosts by a margin of an innings and 70 runs.