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Hand in Glove

George Patterson and Cricket in Philadelphia

Stephen Musk

Published on 3 July 2026 by Red Rose Books

Original pictorial wrappers, new. £15.00

(i-iv), 5-139pp, illustrated.

The recent surge in interest in Philadelphian cricket has not been particularly kind to George Patterson. The spotlight has remained largely fixed upon Bart King, the only player from the city unarguably of world-beating class. But King did not play in a vacuum - in Philadelphia he had teammates and opponents. And some of them were extremely good cricketers in their own right. Patterson was one of the very best of these. At the first-class level he was possibly the best bat ever to play for the Gentlemen of Philadelphia. And his figures in the Halifax Cup, the senior domestic competition, were every bit as impressive as those of King, both with the bat and the ball. He was also a well-respected captain and a deep thinker on the game. Making extensive use of articles by and about Patterson in the contemporary press, this biography aims to return him to centre-stage, where he belongs, and, whilst doing so, casting fresh light on the development of cricket in Philadelphia.