As in 1860 Charles Lawrence again brought over the All England XI. For two days the weather was good and large crowds attended but the 3rd day was disappointing, as the XI only needed 35 to win when play began. The XI made 5 changes from the 1860 team. HH.Stephenson, J Caesar; T Hayward, RC Tinley and TB Blain dropped out and were replaced by T Hearne, H Slater, J Jackson, J Hogg and WP Creyke. The latter was Chaplain to the Lord Lieutenant, Earl of Carlisle.
Willsher and Jackson, two magnificent fast bowlers, dismissed the XXII for 46 and 97 and only two players reached double figures in either innings. George Parr, the Lion of the North, gave bowling support by taking 6 wickets in the second innings. 15 of the Irishmen had played in the 1860 game. Two future Provosts of Trinity College were playing for Ireland. One was Traill whose only match for Ireland this was. He was better known as a Rackets and Rugby player. JP Mahaffy was to succeed Traill as Provost. W Hone Snr was the first of the Hones to play for Ireland. Still at school at St. Colombas he had just passed his 19th birthday. Between 1861 and 1878 he played 19 times for Ireland scoring 379 runs with a top score of 91. He had the worst possible debut, scoring 0 and 0 - one of 4 "pairs" by the XXII in this game. Hone's last innings in 1878 was also 0. Before playing the XXII the XI played XXII Officers and beat them by 8 wickets, chiefly due to the bowling of Willsher and Jackson. Jackson was then 28 years of age and the fastest bowler in England. In 1860 he had taken 260 wickets. .
The ground at Coburg Gardens in Harcourt Street had been levelled and prepared by the Rev JA Rice who also looked after the catering. RC Tinley was unable to play for the XI due to a hurt to his side. Instead he umpired.
There was excellent weather and a big crowd on the first day. Ireland made only 46, no one reaching double figures. 8 by Hodgson was the top score. There were 12 "ducks", including one not out and Jackson and Willsher bowled unchanged. Jackson sent down 131 balls and took 11 for 21 - clean bowling 9 of them. Willsher took 9 for 20 in 128 balls. Jackson, in particular, was superb and, backed up by fine fielding, he and Willsher had Ireland all out by 2 30 pm. Daft and Clarke excelled in the field as did wicket-keeper Hogg. A.Brenan batted best of all but he was run out for 6 when his partner failed to move for a run. It was remarked that the Officers had batted more confidently in the previous match. Starting at 3 15 the XI scored 77 for 4 before the close at 6 30 pm. This was perhaps slow scoring but there were 22 fielders. T Hearne and H Slater opened and Lawrence bowled Slater for 7 (all singles). Hearne was cleverly caught by Roberts off Chapman for 8. A Clarke was caught off Lawrence for 7 at 24-3. Daft and Parr made a stand until Daft was stumped by Brenan off Mahaffy's slows for 16. At close of play Parr (22) and G Anderson (14) were not out.
The first ball of the second day, a slow one from Lawrence, bowled Parr. Capt. F Marshall joined Anderson and together they took the score to 100. Then the last 5 wickets fell for 9 runs - 4 of them to Lawrence who finished with 7 for 47. Anderson got 21 and Marshall 17. Chapman with his fast underarm bowling was very accurate and took 2 for 19 off 30 overs. During the XI's innings Brenan kept an excellent wicket and Despard was outstanding at point. After lunch the XXII batted again and did a little better getting 97. Jackson again bowled unchanged and got 7 for 44 in 180 balls. In the match he took 18 for 65. Willsher bowled 120 balls taking 3 for 29 (in this match and the previous one he took 28 wickets) before giving way to Parr who took 7 for 44 in 180 balls. R Gordon, making his debut, scored 33 by "care, straightness and boldness". He earned frequent applause until run out by a return from Willsher to Hogg. The Lord Lieutenant presented him with a bat. Graves, although making only 4, gave Gordon good support. Brenan made 17 before a good catch by Willsher off Parr's slows dismissed him. Time was up after the Irish innings, leaving the XI to get 35 to win.
Between 1 pm and 2 pm on the second day the XI got the 35 to win. Lawrence and Chapman bowled 25 overs unchanged between them. Chapman was again on the target and took the 2 wickets that fell for 12 runs. Daft and Hearne opened. Daft gave several chances off Lawrence before being caught by Traill off Chapman for 8. Slater was splendidly caught by Roberts off Chapman for 0 but Hearne (22) and Parr (5) knocked off the runs.
The Rev Rice entertained the two teams to lunch (provided by Collington purveyor to Phoenix and Trinity). A scratch match followed and in the evening the All England XI left for their match at Bath the next day.