The Cradle of International Cricket — Canada-USA Rivalry Develops, 1840s

The 1844 match at Bloomingdale Park had been a sensation; both the Toronto and New York cricket communities were eager to repeat it. Further matches were arranged in the late 1840s, alternating between Canadian and American grounds. The Toronto Cricket Club, founded in 1827, had by the late 1840s a membership of several hundred and a well-maintained ground; the New York clubs — St George's CC, the Dragon CC — were equally well organised. The cricket played in these fixtures was of a genuine standard: the players were typically British-born immigrants who had played the game before emigrating, and the standard would have been respectable in any English county. The social atmosphere — inter-city rivalry, large crowds, significant wagering — replicated the English county experience in a North American setting. Visiting English elevens came to North America in this period and found the cricket surprisingly competitive.