Lives in Cricket No 32 - Eric Rowan

62 the bowling all day to reach 133, while his captain was on 64. Beames, writing in The Sydney Morning Herald, described the Rowan century as slow but interesting, and of immense value to his side. As the players left the field heavy rain fell and the pitch and surrounding areas were covered, although Arthur Morris felt this was not done as quickly as it should have been. The soaking which the pitch received now produced conditions greatly favouring the bowlers and the Australians were in serious trouble. The overnight partnership ended early on the second day when Nourse was dismissed after adding just two runs, and then Eric’s defiant innings ended at 143 after 388 minutes at the crease during which he hit 14 fours. The remainder of the batting subsided, but the final total of 311 seemed more than enough by stumps. Morris and Moroney added 31, but the introduction of Tayfield into the attack caused a sensational collapse that saw the innings end for just 75. The off spinner captured seven for 23, well supported by Mann’s left-arm spin (three for 31). Morris batted 75 minutes for his 25. It was wet and turning and became a classic ‘sticky wicket’ when the sun came out, with the ball taking chunks out of the surface as it spun and bounced unpredictably. In such conditions the chances of survival were slim. Nourse chose not to enforce the follow-on, hoping to give the Australians an impossible task in the fourth innings. According to Eric the reason was that the South African captain thought it was going to rain and if it did conditions would be even worse. Neil Harvey also said that Nourse had consulted the weather forecasters and was confident another storm would come. The South Africans made 99. Ian Johnson’s off spin claimed five for 34, while Bill Johnston took four for 39. Harvey remembered Lindsay Hassett telling the bowlers to try and make the innings last as long as possible, in the hope that conditions might improve especially when the forecast rain stayed away. The longer the South African innings lasted, the better the chances for the Australians when it came their turn to bat, provided the target was not allowed to become too great. Indeed, the pitch had improved a little by the time the Australians began their second innings. Faced with scoring 336 to win on a still difficult pitch they made a poor start losing Moroney, Miller and Hassett before stumps, which was reached with Morris on 35, Harvey on 12 and Australia struggling at 80 for three. It seemed that only a miracle could prevent a South African victory and the end of Australia’s unbeaten record in the country, dating back to Australian Challenge