any cricket. For the second game, MacLaren replaced W. G. Grace as England captain; the other candidate for the leadership was Stanley Jackson, who was senior to MacLaren at Harrow and had preceded him into the England side, but MacLaren was favoured owing to his previous experience in the role with Lancashire and England. Australia comfortably won the second Test, and on his first appearance of the season, MacLaren scored 4 runs opening the innings on the first day. In the second innings, he moved down the order to number six, but he came in to bat when England trailed heavily and had lost four wickets. He batted for around 150 minutes to score 88 not out. The Wisden match report stated: "There was ... some risk in playing MacLaren, who had not so far taken part in any first-class cricket during the season. In this case however, the [selection] committee had reason to congratulate themselves, MacLaren playing a magnificent second innings and making a great, though fruitless, effort to save the game ... Never has MacLaren played a greater innings." Afterwards, MacLaren scored a century in difficult batting conditions against Yorkshire. Jackson did not play in this game, and initially refused to play for England in the third Test; the press attributed this to jealousy of MacLaren and anger at being passed over for the captaincy. The third Test was drawn owing to poor weather, but England's revival continued in the next game, which was drawn with England in a dominant position. The final match was also drawn, but while England lost the series 1–0, critics believed the team had recovered from a poor start to the summer and held the ascendancy in the final three games. MacLaren's only score over fifty was that in the second Test, and he finished the series with 164 runs at 32.80. In all first-class cricket, he made 814 runs at 32.56, including two centuries against Yorkshire. Full-time cricketer In late 1899, MacLaren joined a private cricket tour of America and Canada organised by the cricket-playing Indian prince Ranjitsinhji. The following March, he was appointed as an assistant secretary at Lancashire. The position was a sinecure; his main role was to coach the first eleven which effectively meant that he was paid to play cricket, despite his amateur status. Surviving records do not indicate his salary, but some sources suggest he was paid