Lives in Cricket No 34 - Frank Mitchell

83 the trip. The monetary loss was no doubt a disappointment, but it was not heavy enough in any way to trouble the various gentleman concerned.’ The touring party was chosen by Frank Mitchell together with A.B.Tancred and Murray Bisset. Tancred, the brother of L.J. and V.M., was himself an opening batsman, and made his first-class debut in the first match against England in South Africa in 1888/9. Bisset was captain of the 1901 team to England and later had a diplomatic career, becoming Sir Murray Bisset and being Acting Governor of Rhodesia at the time of his death in 1931. The initial touring party was made up of 13 amateurs and one professional, James Middleton, who was born in County Durham but bought out of the army to become the professional at Cape Town Cricket Club. They were joined briefly in England by another professional, Charles Llewellyn, when not required by Hampshire (and himself subject of a biography in this Lives in Cricket series). All but two of the fifteen tourists at some time represented their country in legitimate Tests, and ten were English-speaking Transvaal players and members of the famous Wanderers Club in Johannesburg. L.J.Tancred scored 1217 first-class runs at an average of 41.06 on the tour, although sadly his brother V.M. took his own life while it was in progress. C.M.J.Hathorn , who also played tennis for South Africa, was not far behind with 1167 at 37.64. W.A.Shalders was Tancred’s opening partner and batted consistently throughout the tour, with an average of 27.16 although his highest score was only 81. Gordon White and R.O.Schwarz were both attractive middle-order batsmen who developed as leg-break and googly bowlers in 1904 and really came into their own on South Africa’s successful tour of 1907, although as batsmen worked out how to play them they faded. Both died at the end of World War I, White of wounds at Gaza and Schwarz of influenza at the Etaples troop staging camp in northern France, believed by the virologist John Oxford and other researchers to be the origin of the worldwide flu pandemic of 1918-19. E.A.Halliwell , the wicket-keeper, was Mitchell’s vice-captain. He was born in Middlesex, emigrated to the Gold Coast and then to India before finally settling in South Africa. J.H.Sinclair was an all-round sportsman who played rugby for South Africa, as well as being a hard-hitting middle-order batsman and a bowler who combined ‘ a nice variety of pace with a high action ’ ( Wisden ). On the tour he took 92 wickets at an average of 23.49, and also scored 633 runs. J.J.Kotze was the only Afrikaner in the party, although he had fought for the British in the Boer War. He was then the fastest bowler in South Africa and was the leading wicket-taker on the tour with 104 at 20.5. G.H.Shepstone , though educated at Repton, was born in South Africa and later worked in the gold mining industry. S.J. ‘Tip’ Snooke was an all-rounder who played for Border and Western Province at the time of the tour, but later for Transvaal. This whole party was an extraordinary mix of talent, knowledge and ability. What conversations they must have had as they travelled by train up and down England, and to Edinburgh, Dublin and Cork. Mitchell can rightly claim a responsibility for the development of Reginald International cricket: South Africa in England, 1904