The Smokers began their innings late on the first day. By that stage, the pitch had deteriorated and light was poor, making batting more difficult. By the end of the day's play forty minutes later, they had lost four wickets and only scored 25 runs. They fared better the following morning, but only three batsmen reached double figures—Billy Gunn, 18, Monty Bowden, 29, and Charles Clarke, 20 not out—as they were bowled out for 111 just before the lunch break. W. G. Grace was the pick of the bowlers, taking five wickets for 29 runs. A first-innings deficit of 139 runs meant that the Smokers were forced to follow on.