Daft's XI - The North American Cricket Tour of 1879

In early 1879, J. P. Ford, a member of the Nottingham Town Council, approached Nottinghamshire's cricket captain, Richard Daft, and asked if he would be prepared to lead a team of cricket professionals on a tour of North America in the autumn of that year. After reaching agreements with both Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire Cricket regarding the release of their professionals, six members of each team left on August 28 to play five matches in Canada and seven in the United States; all but one of those matches were against odds. The tour finished with the teams dividing into their Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire contingents and, after adding local cricketers to make up the elevens, played against each other in a match "Nottinghamshire" won by ten wickets.Shaw took 186 wickets in those 13 games at an average of 2.47. He enjoyed himself so much that he returned with his own eleven two years later.