Lives in Cricket No 34 - Frank Mitchell

96 The 1912 Triangular Tournament out for 265 (Faulkner an outstanding 122 not out) and following on a dismal 95. This was the famed match in which the Australian T.J.Matthews took two hat tricks. Mitchell was not a Matthews victim but his scores of 11 and 0, and being losing leader, did not make a happy start to his brief tenure as a Test match captain. The Second Test was also lost by an innings, to England. The 95 all out of the First Test was followed by 58 all out. F.R.Foster and S.F.Barnes were at the peak of their form. They shared the ten South African wickets (Mitchell just one), relaxed whilst England made 339, and then took another nine wickets – the other being a run out – with South Africa batting a little better to make 217 (Mitchell another single). Over the next month Mitchell played in another five matches. One game was against Scotland and another against South Wales. He was brave enough to recognise that a few 20’s and 30’s but no 50’s was proving no great advantage to his side. He dropped himself for the next Test – against England – even though the match was to be at Headingley. That must have been a bitter blow, and it showed leadership to do as he did, but his team still failed, this time by 174 runs. He came back for the fourth South African Test, against Australia at Lord’s, and introduced his side to King George V, but scratchy scores of 12 and 3, and being bowled on both occasions showed up again his slowness in reaction to some quality bowling. It was his last Test match. Tancred took over the captaincy at Trent Bridge, and for once the South Africans had the better of a drawn but damp match against Australia. At The Oval Mitchell could only watch, no doubt in some despair, as England bowled out the South Africans for 95 and 93 and took another victory by 10 wickets. Fifteen players had turned out for South Africa in two or more Tests that summer of 1912. The great sadness was that Frank Mitchell, whose captaincy was sound enough, finished at the absolute bottom of that list when the averages were published. Six innings had produced 28 runs with a highest score of 12 and an average of 4.66. He did have one last moment of satisfaction. The final tour match was against the Gentlemen of England at Hastings. The Gentlemen batted first and scored 286 (J.W.H. T. Douglas 94, and Gilbert Jessop 59). South Africa disappointed with 178 (Mitchell 13), and then shook off their sadness. The Gentlemen were bowled out for 164 and Mitchell watched as five of his batsmen scored more than 40 each, to reach 273 for 4 and win by six wickets. As the team then dispersed with most going back to South Africa, Frank Mitchell remained behind in the country of his birth. His mother had died two years earlier, and now his father was very ill, and died in November 1912. Frank Mitchell’s family were with him in England and he never returned to South Africa for any extended period.