Lives in Cricket No 34 - Frank Mitchell

86 International cricket: South Africa in England, 1904 It would be Mitchell’s last appearance against his old team for nearly eight years. He would have returned to South Africa a contented man, and he was right to believe that the tour had built up such interest in cricket within South Africa, that they became a much stronger cricketing nation. W.A.Bettesworth wrote about him in Cricket on 8 September 1904: ‘Mitchell has not many very large scores, but on many occasions during the tour his steady and accurate play has been of the greatest assistance to the side’. Under Mitchell’s captaincy the South Africans had played 22 first- class matches, with 10 wins, a tie, nine drawn games, and two losses. In games against the counties they lost only to Worcestershire and Kent, with the tie being against Middlesex. In that tight match the advantage passed several times between the sides, and Mitchell made one good score of 66. Eleven were needed to win from the last two South African wickets and they managed ten before both wickets fell on the tied score. He did not immediately return to South Africa and may have been glad to have sat on the sidelines when some of his team played for an Abe Bailey XI against East Grinstead at Mr Bailey’s Sussex home to finally round off the tour. When an England team next played in South Africa in January 1906, it was South Africa who left the field in triumph after winning a match played in great final tension by one wicket. Mitchell was almost certainly at The Old Wanderers Ground to witness that magnificent game. A proud moment. Frank Mitchell leads out his team at Lord’s in 1904  – but why are there no MCC Members in their illustrious pavilion? Left to right: W.A.Shalders, C.M.J.Hathorn, G.C.White, L.J.Tancred, S.J.Snooke, F.Mitchell, G.H.Shepstone, R.O.Schwarz, E.A.Halliwell, J.H.Sinclair, J.J.Kotze.