Lives in Cricket No 42 - Frank and George Mann

94 MCC in South Africa 1948/49 But Arlott was unaware of events behind the scenes, revealed fifty years later by Christopher Sandford in The Cricketer . At the end of the Third Test, before setting off to play Eastern Province at Port Elizabeth, some of the England players enjoyed a few hours relaxing in the bar of their hotel, during which it was agreed that the next round of drinks, one of a series of light-hearted fines, should be paid for by the player whose performance in the Test, either on or off the field, had been judged as less than satisfactory. It was decided that Evans, always the joker, should be the victim but for once he took exception to the vote and in a fit of pique, poured a mug of beer over the head of Brigadier Green, the MCC tour manager, an act Evans would later describe as ‘not the best career move’ of his life. When the incident was brought to the attention of George Mann, the England captain took no immediate action and waited for an appropriate opportunity to demonstrate that such a serious lapse of respect by a professional cricketer towards the manager could not be overlooked and required discipline where it would have the biggest impact. Arriving at the Langham Hotel in Johannesburg on the eve of the Fourth Test, Evans was met with a handwritten note from George informing him that, as a result of his indiscipline, he had been dropped from the Test team. George won the toss and, after losing Hutton in the first over, England struggled to reach 290 for seven at stumps. A carefully constructed century, 111 runs in 220 minutes, from Watkins helped England reach a reasonable total of 379 by lunch on the second day and now South Africa had to take the offensive to win the match if they wanted to go into the final Test with a chance of levelling the series. Mitchell was well caught by Griffith off Bedser with only four runs on the board and two more The MCC side which played a rain-limited draw with Rhodesia at Salisbury in February 1949. Standing (l to r): J.F.Crapp, A.J.Watkins (twelfth man), D.V.P.Wright, A.V.Bedser, C.Gladwin, T.G.Evans (wk), J.A.Young, W.H.Ferguson (scorer). Seated: D.J.Meintjes (assistant manager),C.Washbrook, C.H.Palmer, F.G.Mann (capt), L.Hutton, D.C.S.Compton, M.A.Green (manager).