Having returned to Melbourne in November 1884, Scott became embroiled in a dispute between the Australian team and a touring English team formed by James Lillywhite, Alfred Shaw and Arthur Shrewsbury. On 1 November, while the returning Australian team was still at sea, the Australian newspaper "The Age" reported that the English tourists "are not desirous of playing any matches in Australia against Murdoch's Eleven". When the English team played Victoria later in the month, Scott was one of seven Victorians, all members of Murdoch's team, who refused to take part. Consequently, the Victorian Cricket Association suspended the players pending an inquiry. When the English team travelled to Sydney, the New South Wales contingent of Murdoch's team also refused to play. It was not until 27 December that details of the dispute became generally known when "The Age" published correspondence between Lillywhite and the Australians' manager George Alexander which revealed a disagreement about the share of the gate money from the first two Tests to be played in January and February. Members of the 1884 Australian team, including Scott, made up the entire home side in the First Test but boycotted the second match, forcing Australia replace the entire team. On 17 January 1885, "The Australasian" published an account written by Scott, Joey Palmer, Harry Boyle and Jack Blackham of alleged "underhand dealings" by John Conway who was representing the English team's interests.