Lives in Cricket No 32 - Eric Rowan

32 He made 12 and 19 in the Third Test at Newlands in Cape Town. The first day’s play had been washed out, much to the disgust of some protesters who damaged part of the square. The Australians made 362 for seven on the second day and then overnight rain saw play delayed until 3.30 in the afternoon. After Richardson’s declaration the South Africans were caught on a difficult pitch and bowled out for 102 with Nourse, undefeated on 44, the only one to show any resistance. Eric was bowled around his legs by Grimmett’s first ball. Forced to follow on the Springboks did a little better the second time around, making 182. Eric batted for two hours for his 19 before falling to O’Reilly, caught by Richardson in the leg trap. In spite of the time lost to rain, the Australians had little trouble in winning by an innings and 78 runs. Eric then scored 32 and 19 in the tourists’ return match against Transvaal, and was more positive in the first innings than he had been in the Tests. It did not matter as he was surprisingly dropped from the Test team and not selected again for the remainder of the series. It seems a strange decision and Bob Harvey who replaced him enjoyed little success, making 5, 17, 28 and 1 in his four Australian Summer The Australians take the field for the final match of the tour against Western Province at Newlands, Cape Town.(l to r): W.A.S Oldfield, L.P.J.O’Brien, E.L.McCormick, W.A.Brown (partly obscured), J.H.W.Fingleton, A.G.Chipperfield, M.W.Sievers, W.J.O’Reilly, V.Y.Richardson (captain), L.S.Darling, B.A.Barnett. [Bassano Collection]