Lives in Cricket No 32 - Eric Rowan

65 rushed down from the non-striker’s end and said to me “don’t be a little shit, let me get my fifty first”.’ It was in this game that the following incident took place. It was related to a journalist by one of the South African team. At the end of a day’s play one of the players discovered that his Springbok cap was missing. When he complained it was Eric who said, ‘Close the door, and nobody leaves until we find the cap.’ All the bags and other items were searched and eventually the cap was found in one player’s kit. The player concerned said he knew nothing about it, but some thought he was probably going to sell it for a couple of quid, as the particular player’s honesty was not held in high regard. However, the cap was recovered thanks to Eric’s actions. The series ended with Australia winning the Fifth Test at Port Elizabeth by an innings and 259 runs. Hassett won the toss, decided to bat scoring 167 himself, with Morris and, of course, Harvey also making centuries. After declaring at 549 for seven, Hassett let his bowlers loose and they dismissed the South Africans for 158 and 132, Eric’s contributions being 40 and 0. The Australians were superior in all aspects of the game. Their batting was led by Harvey who scored 660 runs at 132.00 with four centuries. He was well supported by the likes of Morris, Moroney and Hassett, who all averaged over fifty, while the variety of an attack containing Lindwall, Johnston, Miller, Johnson and McCool, each averaging less than twenty-five, proved far too good for the Springbok batting. Of the South Africans it was the veterans Nourse and Rowan who proved the most successful. Dudley Nourse topped the batting with 405 runs at 45.00 just ahead of Eric’s 404 runs at 44.88. The only other player to average in excess of forty was keeper George Fullerton who only played in the last two Tests. None of the other specialist batsmen could even average twenty. Eric’s form meant that his aim of touring England in 1951 remained viable. After such a successful season Eric had become one of South Africa’s sporting heroes. It was quite fitting, as one reporter commented, for a man whose home address was 1 Hero Street, Kensington, Johannesburg. The major consolation for the South African Cricket Association was that the tour had attracted over half a million spectators and was expected to produce a profit of around £25,000. For the second year in a row the Association’s coffers would be filled to Australian Challenge