Cricket 1914

M a y 9, 1914. THE WORLD OF CRICKET. English Cricket Teams in South Africa. I t is over a quarter of a century ago since the first English cricket team— called after its manager, Major Warton— visited South Africa. In its ranks were such famous players as Robert Abel, Maurice Read, Frank Hearne, John Briggs, and Harry Wood. The best-known amateurs included were C. A. Smith (" Round the Corner ” Smith), of Charterhouse, Cambridge, and Sussex fame, and M. P. Bowden, of Dulwich and Surrey, who stayed behind and found a grave on the veldt a few years later. The other amateurs were unknown to fame as first-class cricketers. When one of them found it necessary to return home early, George U lyett was cabled for to strengthen the team. Two of the first three matches were lost— those v. Twenty-two of Western Province at Cape Town and v. Twenty-two of Eastern Province a t Port Elizabeth. But after th a t the only defeat sustained was a t the hands of a Fifteen of Cape Colony at Kimberley, then a more important cricket centre than it is now. Towards the end of the tour, South A frica twice ventured the lists even-handed. They lost b y 8 wickets at Port E lizabeth and b y an innings and 202 runs at Cape Town. Abel made a century in the Cape Town game. The best bat in the sub-continent at that day was un­ doubtedly A . B. Tancred, elder brother of L. J., who has four times visited England w ith South African sides. C. H. Vintcent, an old Carthusian, O. R. Dunell, an old Rug-' beian, W . H. Milton (now as Sir W . H. Milton filling an important adm inistrative post in Rhodesia), W . H. Ashley, A. E . Ochse, and C. E. Finlason were among the other prominent players. A ll of these, w ith the exception of Vintcent, who still goes on— or did go on until quite recently — have long since ceased to play. The late W alter W illiam Read captained the Second English Team in 1891-2. It was a stronger side than the first, including as it did two Australians of renown (then settled in England) in the persons of W . L. Murdoch and J. J. Ferris, both, like their captain, since deceased, George Brann, W illiam Chatterton (also numbered among those who have passed over), G. G., Alec, and J. T. Hearne, Victor Barton (another gone over to the great majority), Brockwell, Wood, Pougher, and Martin. This team did not lose a game. There was only one match on even terms, and that South A frica lost b y an innings and nearly 200 runs, H arry Wood hitting up 134 not out and Ferris taking 13 wickets for 91. Frank Hearne had gone back to South A frica after the former tour, weakness of the chest making it advisable for him to settle there ; and he was top scorer in each innings, though w ith such small figures as 24 and 23, for S.A. Among the Eighteen of Johannesburg who took the field against W alter R ead’s team in January, 1892, were E. A. Halliwell, one of the best wicket-keepers of any day, and the late James Sinclair, who was perhaps, with the single exception of Aubrey Faulkner, the greatest all-round cricketer South A frica has yet produced. Sinclair was a boy of sixteen or so then ; but he bowled well enough to be marked out as showing more than ordinary promise. C. O. H. Sewell, the present Gloucestershire captain and secretary, and C. D. Robinson (afterwards of St. John’s, Cambridge, and now the R ev C. D. Robinson) were included in the Maritzburg side against the team a little later in the tour. Four years later (1895-6) Lord Hawke took out the Third English Team, and a rare good team it was, including as it did Sir Tim othy O ’Brien, C. B. F ry, A. J. I.. Hill, S. M .J. Woods, H. T. Hewett, Tom Hayward, George Lohmann, Harry Butt, and E . J. Tyler. Two matches were lost. Fifteen of the Western Province at Cape Town and Fifteen of Natal at Durban beat the team. Colonel (then Lieutenant) R. M. Poore made 112 against the Englishmen a t Maritzburg and 107 not out a t Durban. Among other front rank players met this time were Murray Bisset, who captained the 1901 S.A. Team in England, and was invited to join both the 1904 and 1907 teams, G. A. Rowe, the slow left-hand bowler of the 1894 and 1901 teams, Louis Tancred, Charles Llewellyn, and, of course, Halliwell and Sinclair. N ext to Poore, the big man now dead was the most conspicuous figure in opposition to the team. For Fifteen of Johannesburg he scored 75 and took 7 wickets for 60 in the first innings ; and he figured in all three of the test matches, scoring 40 and 29 in the second, at Johannes­ burg. These three matches were all won by the tourists, that a t Port Elizabeth by 288 runs, th at on the Rand by an innings and 197, and th at under the Lion’s Head b y an innings and 33. A t Port E lizabeth Lohmann took 7 for 38 and 8 for 7, and a t Johannesburg he had 9 for 28, and 3 for 43, and at Cape Town 7 for 42 in the first innings. Tom Hayward made 122 a t Johannesburg, and A . J. L. Hill 124 a t Cape Town, T . A. Routledge, Frank Hearne, Lieut. Poore, Halliwell,. and Sinclair played in all three matches. Llewellyn figured in one only, scoring 24 and 4, and having 71 runs hit off 70 balls w ithout a wicket. He was only 19 then. The Fourth English Team (1898-9) was also under the captaincy of Lord Hawke, and among those w ith him were Frank Mitchell, P. F. Warner, F. W . Milligan, John Tyldesley, Haigh, A lbert Trott, Board,, and Cuttell. Like Bowden, Milligan stayed behind to find a grave in South Africa, where, by the way, poor John Ferris also died. This side was unbeaten in any regular match of the tour, though in an extra game at the finish eighteen boys from the Cape Town schools unexpectedly lowered its colours. There were five eleven-a-side games, two w ith South Africa, two w ith Cape Colony, and one w ith the Transvaal- In the'Transvaal match the team ran up 537 for 6 wickets, Mitchell scoring 162, Tyldesley 114, and T rott 101 not out. T ro tt also took 11 wickets for 140 runs. The two Cape Colony games were devoid of any features of note. B u t some interesting cricket was seen in the two test games. A t Johannesburg Warner carried his bat through the second innings for 132 of a total of 237, and T rott took 9 wickets for n o . Sinclair played a grand innings of 86 for South Africa, who were only beaten b y 32 runs. The same great player— great in every sense, in body, in heart, in ability— was to the fore again in the Cape Town game. He took 6 wickets for 26, Middleton (lately dead) 4 for 18, and England went down for 92. Then the big man made 106, hitting 39 of the first 40 made while he was in, and South A frica had a lead of 85 on the first innings ; John Tyldesley came to the rescue w ith 112 ; seven others made useful scores ; and then South A frica slumped so badly before Haigh (6 for 11) and T rott (4 for 19) that England actu ally won by 210 runs ! Among the men afterwards famous who were first m et on this tour were Maitland Hathorn, Sibley Snooke, and William Shalders. The last-named made 76 for Fifteen of Griqualand West a t Kimberley. A ltogether the standard of play was noticeably higher than that of three years earlier. Before the next tour came the bad days of the War. Meanwhile, too, in 1901 and 1904, South African teams had visited England, and had proved their ability here, though in neither tour did they attract the same attention th at the Australians have always had. The F ifth English Team, that which Pelham Warner led in 1905-6, was quite as strong as some of those which have visited Australia, including, as it did, such men as J. N. Crawford, F. L. Fane, H. D . G. Leveson-Gower, Captain E . G. Wynyard, David Denton, Hayes, Lees, Haigh, A lbert Relf, Board, and Blythe. Y e t South A frica defeated it in four matches out of