Lives in Cricket No 32 - Eric Rowan

15 Chapter Two England 1935 For the 1935 tour of England the South African selectors did indeed make some bold decisions. They began at the top by naming Herby Wade as captain. He was a useful batsman for Natal for over a decade. He had played some club cricket in England, but he had yet to represent his country. He did, however, have a reputation as a good captain. ‘Jock’ Cameron, who had led the side on its Australian tour, was appointed as Wade’s deputy as it was felt that the leadership had affected his playing ability. The wicketkeeper-batsman was the best in the game and would need to be at his most effective to give the Springboks a chance. In addition to Wade and Cameron, the following thirteen players were chosen, Xenophon Balaskas, Alex ‘Sandy’ Bell, Bob Crisp, Eric Dalton, ‘Chud’ Langton, Bruce Mitchell, Dudley Nourse, Eric Rowan, ‘Jack’ Siedle, Denis Tomlinson, Ken Viljoen, Cyril Vincent and Robert Williams. Only six players who had toured in 1929, namely Bell, Cameron, Dalton, Mitchell, Siedle and Vincent, were selected. Along with Eric, Dudley Nourse, son of Springbok legend ‘Dave’, was another young batsman of promise. Young bowlers in the form of Bob Crisp and ‘Chud’ Langton were others on whom the selectors gambled. Former South African player Sibley John ‘Tip’ Snooke was appointed as manager. In a later interview Eric confessed that he was just ‘pleased to get in’. For the early part of the tour the weather was exceptionally cold as the South Africans worked hard to come to terms with the foreign conditions. Regular net sessions were held at Lord’s and for one of them fast bowler Bob Crisp arrived without his gear, becoming the only cricketer to undertake training at Lord’s wearing plus fours. For a player brought up in such dramatically different circumstances Eric adapted well to the vagaries of English weather and the pitches it produced. He made a sound 43 in his initial first-class innings against Worcestershire, adding 109 for the fourth wicket with Nourse (74). This was followed by innings of 91 and 89 at Leicester. His first hundred in England came in the next match, against Cambridge University at Fenner’s, and he followed