In 1872 the MCC secretary RA Fitzgerald led a team to Canada and America which included WG Grace and many other leading cricketers of the age. TC Patteson of the Toronto Cricket Club proposed the tour to Fitzgerald in the summer of 1871, explaining that the necessary funding would be forthcoming providing Grace was part of the touring party. Apparently Colonel NW Wallace was also present at this meeting, which is curious as the tourists did not play in Halifax. The tour was agreed in the spring of 1872 and was paid for by the clubs of Quebec and Ontario, with Mr Patteson contributing $1,500 from his own pocket.

The results were one-sided, although it is likely that the Canadians extended the invitation to the MCC to encourage more immigrants from the homeland, as well as to develop the game domestically. The book of the tour Wickets in the West by Fitzgerald certainly reads more like a travelogue than an account of a cricket tour.

The tourists played the following games in Canada:

Montreal on 22-24 August 1872, won by an innings and 143 runs

Ottawa on 27-28 August 1872, won by an innings and 109 runs

Toronto on 2-4 September 1872, won by an innings and 105 runs

London on 9-11 September 1872, won by 130 runs

Hamilton on 12-13 September 1872, won by an innings and 16 runs

Link back to first tours page.