When the Kangaroo met the Eagle

Martin Chandler | 9:45am GMT 24 December 2023

Published: 2023
Pages: 271
Author: Schofield, Peter and Sissons, Ric
Publisher: Private
Rating: 5 stars

To the best of my knowledge this book is Peter Schofield’s fifth venture into publishing. Two of those efforts were written with Peter Lloyd, and were reviewed here and here. The other two, earlier books, were collaborations with John Stewart.

Schofield describes himself as an avid collector of cricket memorabilia. His first venture into publishing, 99.94 and Much More is, essentially, an opportunity for him to showcase that part of his collection that relates to Sir Donald Bradman. The second, From Lord’s to the Letterbox, had a not dissimilar theme, although this time its content was both wider and narrower. It was the latter in that it related only to the reproduction of postcards, but the former in that eligibility for inclusion required only that the card related to Australian cricket prior to 1948.

The Trumper and Bradman extravaganzas were different again. Once more the Schofield collection was the cornerstone, but this time the many illustrations also contained material from other sources. In addition Schofield and Lloyd produced a detailed narrative to accompany the images.

Ric Sissons has also gone into print several times, and is a noted historian and researcher. His interests lie in much the same eras as his co-author, so their collaboration goes back to the close of the so called ‘Golden Age’ of cricket, and the visit in 1913 of an Australian side to North America, taking in the USA, Canada and Bermuda.

All Schofield publications are, before a second’s thought is given to their content, things of beauty. When the Kangaroo met the Eagle is no different. It is a substantial tome, bound in full leather and housed in a bespoke slipcase. Inside top quality paper has been used, the book has marbled endpapers and all the many illustrations are in full colour. The book appears, naturally, as a limited edition. There are 110 numbered copies all signed by both authors and by David Frith and Gideon Haigh.

The first question for any Schofield book therefore is how well it is produced and how attractive is the finished product. The one thing When the Kangaroo met the Eagle does not have is gilt edged pages, which I have to admit to rather liking, but then I assume Schofield doesn’t, as he has never used them. I take no point on that however, and am happy to assure potential purchasers that this one is every bit as much a thing of beauty as previous Schofields and indeed I am not convinced that the quality of the reproduction of the images is not actually better than hitherto.

Those additional signatories, Frith and Haigh, are of course, two of the game’s foremost writers and both are better judges of the quality of a cricket book than I am. The generous forewords both provide will, presumably, preclude either feeling able to review the book, so I will make the point that both were impressed. Frith is at pains to make the point that even at his advancing age the 1913 tour was before his time, but he also concedes a neat continuity point, that he did meet two of the tourists, and indeed knew one, Arthur Mailey, reasonably well.

However attractive it may be the value of any book must depend on whether or not its content is worth reading, so I shall turn now to that important question.

Given the subject matter of the book some context is called for. Irrespective of whether the latest attempt to popularise cricket in America has any more success than several failures over recent years it should be borne in mind that back in the ‘Golden Age’ American cricket was strong and, in Philadelphia at least, well established. The best Philadelphian sides were not far short of Test standard, although by 1913 a decline had set in which, with the outbreak of the Great War, swiftly became terminal.

The 1913 tour was by far the most ambitious trip to North America that an Australian side ever undertook. The Board did not approve, but the side was a strong one nonetheless. All twelve men were First Class cricketers, and Sid Emery and Edgar Mayne were each capped four times by Australia. The best known of the team, Charlie Macartney, Warren Bardsley, Arthur Mailey and Englishman Jack Crawford are names that resonate with all interested in the history of the game to this day.

The Australians spent four months in North America, and played 53 matches altogether, many against odds. The visitors performances were stunning, and they crushed many of the sides they came up against, the most extreme example being their dismissing the Winnipeg Cricket Association for just six, and four of those were extras!

There were five First Class matches on the tour, and the Australians won four of those convincingly and were well on top in a rain ruined draw. The batting and bowling figures of the Australians are hugely impressive, but the Americans did lower their colours once, the prestigious Germantown club in Philadelphia winning a low scoring match by four wickets – the rather sad observation is quoted that despite there being no charge for admission the victory was completed in front of hardly a handful of spectators – American cricket has never scaled such heights again.

There was plenty of contemporary coverage of the trip, and Schofield and Sissons have had no difficulty in putting together the story of the tour, the matches played, and some of the off field activities of the tourists as well. That detailed look at the tour is prefaced by pen portraits of the tourists, and the whole account is bookended by comprehensive summaries of the cricketing contact between Australia and North America both before and after the 1913 tour.

The narrative is excellent, but the real plaudits have to be reserved for the book’s illustrations. The authors have assembled a stunning selection of photographs, postcards and other items of memorabilia. That that has happened is not of itself in any way a surprise, but as indicated the quality and manner of their reproduction is hugely impressive. I dare say that that is in large part due to the efforts and skills of the designer and printer as much as the authors, but even if that is the case Schofield and Sissons still deserve great credit for locating and selecting them in the first place.

The subject matter of When the Kangaroo met the Eagle is a little off the beaten track of mainstream cricket history, although no less welcome for that. It is a credit to all involved in its publication and whilst it is an expensive book to buy the impressive quality means that it is worth every cent. Unsurprisingly the book’s limited print run sold well as soon as it was announced, but I understand a few copies are still available from Roger Page in Australia, and JW McKenzie in the UK.