Controversies in 1859

7 incidents documented

George Parr's 130 — Only First-Class Century, Notts v Surrey, the Oval, July 1859

Nottinghamshire vs Surrey

1859-07-14

On 14 July 1859 the Nottinghamshire captain George Parr — the 'Lion of the North' and Clarke's heir as captain of the All-England Eleven — scored 130 against Surrey at the Oval. It was the only first-class century of his career, and a public confirmation that he was now the leading professional batsman in England, the man widely held to be the best cricketer in the world in his prime.

#george-parr#century#oval

⭐Mild

The Parr Tree at Trent Bridge — The Elm Hit for Six for 28 Summers

Nottinghamshire and All-England Eleven home matches

1859-08-01

An elm tree standing inside the boundary at Trent Bridge on the Bridgford Road side became the most famous tree in cricket because George Parr — the dominant Nottinghamshire batsman from the late 1840s to the late 1860s — habitually hit it for six with his trademark leg-side sweep. Parr's Tree stood for more than a century until it was felled by gales at New Year 1976; a branch had earlier been laid on Parr's coffin in 1891.

#parr-tree#trent-bridge#george-parr

⭐Mild

George Parr's Twelve to North America — The First Overseas Cricket Tour, September-October 1859

George Parr's English XII vs USA and Canadian sides (XXII)

1859-09-07

On 7 September 1859 twelve professional English cricketers, captained by the Nottinghamshire batsman George Parr, sailed from Liverpool on the SS Nova Scotian for the first overseas cricket tour in history. Between 24 September and 14 October they played five matches in Canada and the United States — Montreal, Hoboken, Philadelphia, Hamilton and Rochester — winning every one against odds of 22, and laying the foundation for every overseas tour that followed.

#1859-tour#george-parr#north-america

⭐Mild

Hoboken Elysian Fields — The First International Cricket Match, October 1859

England (Parr's XII) vs XXII of the United States

1859-10-03

On 3-5 October 1859 the second match of George Parr's North American tour was played at the Elysian Fields in Hoboken, New Jersey, the home ground of the St George's Cricket Club of New York. England, fielding twelve, beat XXII of the United States by an innings and 64 runs in front of large daily crowds, in what is recognised as the first international cricket match of any kind on US soil.

#hoboken#elysian-fields#first-international

⭐Mild

Tom Lockyer — Surrey's Premier Wicketkeeper and the Greatest of the Roundarm Era

Surrey and All-England elevens

1859-07-01

Tom Lockyer of Croydon kept wicket for Surrey from 1849 to 1866 and was, in the unanimous opinion of his contemporaries, the greatest wicketkeeper of the roundarm era. He took 301 catches and made 123 stumpings in 223 first-class matches, was a member of every important touring side of his time — the 1859 North America tour, the 1861-62 and 1863-64 Australian tours — and bowled useful right-arm medium-fast roundarm in his later seasons.

#tom-lockyer#wicketkeeper#surrey

⭐Mild

Alfred Mynn — The Lion of Kent's Final Season, 1859

Kent and various sides

1859-08-31

The 1859 season was the final first-class summer of Alfred Mynn, the Lion of Kent — a 22-stone right-arm fast-roundarm bowler and powerful hitter who had been a household name since the 1830s. Mynn played his last serious cricket at the age of 52, two years before his death; his career closed at the same moment that Parr's twelve sailed for North America and the post-Mynn generation took the game overseas.

#alfred-mynn#lion-of-kent#1859

⭐Mild

H.H. Stephenson — Surrey Professional Who Would Captain the First Australia Tour

Surrey and All-England elevens

1859-08-01

Heathfield Harman Stephenson, a surgeon's son from Esher, made his Surrey debut in 1853 and through the second half of the 1850s established himself as one of the leading professional all-rounders in the country — a fast-roundarm bowler, occasional wicket-keeper and capable middle-order batsman. He toured North America with Parr in 1859 and would, two years later, captain the first English tour of Australia.

#hh-stephenson#surrey#1850s