Lives in Cricket No 32 - Eric Rowan

46 mad. I couldn’t creep to them. I told them what I thought and they didn’t like it. Practically the same selectors picked me in 1951 and one of them came up at the end of the tour and apologized that they didn’t pick me in 1947.’ The selectors were C.L.Vincent, E.Deavin, R.E. Grieveson and P.G.V. van der Bijl. The captain, to be appointed in November 1946, was then to be added to the selection committee. In The Cricketer 1946 Winter Annual Louis Duffus felt that the main batting candidates were Melville, Mitchell, Nourse, Viljoen, Balaskas, Rowan and Dalton. He thought it highly probable that either five or six of these would be chosen and that he expected Rowan and Balaskas to be selected. In The Cricketer 1947 Spring Annual Duffus stated that ‘one of the most unlucky players was Eric Rowan.’ Later in the same article he went on to say, ‘one can only conclude that his omission was due to policy for the selectors have obviously tried to blend experience with youth as a means of building up teams for the future.’ Was this really the case? There was a strong rumour circulating at the time that Alan Melville, who had been appointed captain, did not want Eric in the side. When this was put to him, Eric said, ‘I don’t know. Alan and I were fairly good friends. I used to rough [sledge] him a bit. Alan was a very pukka gentleman and everything had to be exactly right. I don’t think he had any antagonism towards me. He may have preferred to take so-and-so instead. I know who he took and it was a friend of his, but that’s neither here nor there.’ What did he mean by that last comment? He would say nothing more on the matter. Lost Years Alan Melville became the South African captain in 1938/39. He did not enjoy the best of relations with Eric who called him a’ very pukka gentleman’. Many thought Melville had personally intervened to prevent Eric touring England in 1947. [Bassano Collection]