Lives in Cricket No 32 - Eric Rowan

55 In the Fifth Test at Port Elizabeth the South Africans were faced with winning the match to draw the series. Melville was again missing and so Nourse was captain. He set his team on the right path by winning the toss and deciding to bat. After the early loss of Eric and Ken Viljoen, Mitchell (99), Nourse (73) and Billy Wade (125) took the score to 379. Athol Rowan was particularly critical of Mitchell who spent six and a half hours over his runs. He felt that such negative tactics cost them the chance of a win. The Times correspondent agreed, saying that the game could only end in a draw as they ‘had spent far too much time compiling a useful total’. England replied with 395 thanks to a century from George Mann who proved he was up to the standard of Test cricket. Athol Rowan worked his way through 60 overs to take five for 167. The onus was on South Africa to score quickly to set their opponents a target and at the same time give themselves time to take ten wickets. In a strange innings the Springboks took 58 overs to reach 187 for three before Nourse declared. All the batsmen played cautiously, including Eric who spent 120 minutes making 37. The declaration was a bizarre one as it left South Africa just 95 minutes to bowl England out. While the runs might be difficult to score, it seemed impossible for a side to be dismissed in such a short time on a pitch that was still playing well. Mann decided his team would go for the runs and that they could always call off the chase if they lost too many wickets. His batsmen followed his instructions to the letter, scoring 174 runs for the loss of seven wickets in just 23.7 overs. Athol with three for 66 off 10 overs and Mann four for 65 off 9.7 took wickets, but there was never any chance of a victory. Eric was furious. ‘We got a punch on the nose for nothing. I could see no reason for it. As a captain I wanted to make it as difficult as possible for the opposition. Then they get the needle. If you dish it up to them on a plate they laugh at you. That was dished up on a plate.’ In his book it was another black mark against Nourse’s leadership. The result meant that England won the series 2-0 which was in many ways an inaccurate reflection of the contest, given the narrowness of the victory in the First Test and the fact that the Fifth was virtually given to them. One bright spot for the South Africans was the form of their two spinners. Athol had taken 24 The ‘V’ Sign