In 1859 the first ever International Cricket Tour took place when George Parr's English professionals crossed the Atlantic to play against teams firstly from Canada and then from the United States. The games were one-sided despite the North American teams being allowed to field 22 players. The tour was a great success and Parr's undefeated team came home in triumph. However it also highlighted the huge disparity in talent between the leading English players and those from Canada. Parr went on to lead a tour to Australia in early 1864, so the 1859 tour set in motion a chain of events that led to the birth of international cricket.

In Canada Parr's tourists played against:

Lower Canada at Montreal on 24, 26-27 September 1859

Hamilton at Hamilton on 17-19 October 1859

They also played against a combined Canadian-American team at Rochester on 21, 24-25 October 1859

Link back to the first tours page.