Cricket – the Philadelphia story … the MCC 1897 to 1905

Martin Chandler | 8:30am BST 21 June 2026

Published: 2026
Pages: 122
Author: Smith, Steve
Publisher: Private
Rating: 3 stars

There was a time, and it lasted for many years, when the Marylebone Cricket Club was pre-eminent not only in terms of its playing strength but also in its organisation of the world game, so it is far from surprising that the MCC should get a volume to itself as Steve Smith continues his journey through the history of cricket in Philadelphia.

And in fact in due course it will get two. The great club first met the Philadelphians in 1897 on the first of their tours of England. The Gentlemen of Philadelphia played them again in both the subsequent visits of 1903 and 1908 and, in 1905 and 1907, teams toured North America under the aegis of the MCC. This book takes the story up to the end of the 1905 tour, and thus the follow up will cover the 1907 tour and, from 1908, the Philadelphians last meeting with the Marylebone club.

Steve Smith provides us with full accounts of all the matches. The MCC won both fixtures in England and with, for the second in particular, sides of some strength. It was rather different in 1905 when the visitors contained not a single name that resonates in the 21st century. One of the tourists did play four times against South Africa soon after the tour, but few have heard of Leonard Moon today.

Despite the comparative weakness of the team the MCC beat the Gentlemen of Philadelphia comfortably enough in the first of the two First Class fixtures of their tour. The hosts did succeed in reversing that in the second but probably the most interesting part of the book is the text of an article that appeared in the American Cricketer and was penned by William Morice, one of the home players in both matches. Morice does not hold back in his criticism of himself and his teammates.

Further evidence of the comparative weakness of the MCC touring side came in the match in Montreal. It is almost invariably the case on these tours that once the visitors leave Philadelphia they are only ever tested by the weather, but in a two day game against Montreal, and one that was eleven a side, the home team took a slender first innings lead and were in a reasonable position in their second innings when time ran out.

All in all this is another interesting book which does not deal solely with the cricket that was played on the tour and, in particular, there are some interesting passages on the subject of transatlantic shipping in the Edwardian era.