CRICKET IN SOUTH AFRICA
By P. F. WARNER
On 3rd December 1898 I left England on my fifth tour abroad as a member
of Lord Hawke’s South African team. The side was a powerful one,
including such men as F. Mitchell, C. E. M. Wilson, the late F. W.
Milligan, Trott, Tyldesley, Cuttell, Haigh, and Board.
After a delightful voyage in the _Scot_, we arrived at Cape Town, and
during the next four months played cricket from Table Mountain almost
to the Zambesi and back again, visiting Johannesburg, Pretoria,
Kimberley, Port Elizabeth, Grahamstown, King William’s Town, Graaf
Reinet, and Buluwayo.
Lord Hawke’s was the fourth English team to go to South Africa, Major
Wharton, W. W. Read, and Lord Hawke himself having in previous years
taken out sides.
In any review of South African cricket, the first thing to be
remembered is that, from one end of the great continent to the other,
you never by any possible chance see a grass wicket, matting being used
everywhere. On the Newlands ground, Cape Town, and at Port Elizabeth,
the matting is stretched over grass, and this makes a wicket which
enables the bowler to get considerable work on, though the ball does
not come off the pitch very quickly. It is not an easy wicket, for
a half-volley does not seem the same thing as on grass, and forcing
strokes generally are at a discount. This kind of wicket affords most
excellent practice, for it teaches one above everything else to watch
the ball.
Tyldesley did make a very fine 112 at Cape Town, and Sinclair, the
South African cricketer, an equally fine 106, but the ball nearly
always beat the bat, and Haigh in particular brought off some great
bowling triumphs. The work he used to get on the ball was prodigious;
he thought nothing of pitching six inches outside the off stump,
and then hitting the leg stump. Trott, too, did one or two fine
performances, while Rowe, Middleton, and Sinclair were at times almost
equally successful.
At Port Elizabeth the out-field is of grass, but the wicket seemed to
me even more difficult than at Cape Town, for the ball, besides taking
a lot of break, turned very quickly. Perhaps, however, I am unduly
influenced by the fact that I made “spectacles” at Port Elizabeth—a
favourite ground, by the way, for Englishmen to fail on, for more than
one well-known cricketer has “bagged a brace” there.
Cape Town and Port Elizabeth are the only two cricket grounds in South
Africa which can boast of a grass out-field; all the other grounds
are absolutely innocent of a blade of grass, being nothing, indeed,
but a brown-reddish sand—somewhat like the colour of the sand on the
seashore—rolled into a flat and hard surface. The matting is stretched
on this sand, and makes a hard, true, and very fast wicket, while the
ball, once past a fielder, simply flies to the boundary.
The Wanderers’ ground, Johannesburg, is by far the best ground in South
Africa, for the wicket is exceptionally fast, and the out-field level
and true. At Kimberley there is a good wicket, but the out-field is
rather rough, which may be said with truth of nearly all South African
grounds, except the Wanderers’. Natal we did not visit, but I am told
that the Maritzburg Oval is in almost every respect the equal of the
Wanderers’ ground.
[Illustration: _A STATE MATCH._
_The Duke of Wellington bowling out Lord Brougham._]
It will be seen from what I have said that matting wickets differ
according as to whether they are laid on grass or otherwise. Matting
stretched on grass gives the bowler more than a two-to-one chance, but
matting on the bare grassless ground favours the batsman, though I am
inclined to think that a really good bowler ought always to be able to
make the ball “nip” a bit. Haigh certainly made the ball turn every now
and again on the Wanderers’ ground, and both he and Albert Trott have
told me that they would infinitely prefer to bowl on the best matting
wicket in the world rather than on a really hard, true turf pitch.
But the matting at Johannesburg is good enough for the most fastidious
batsman, for it plays very fast, and though the pace of the wicket is
apt to put a batsman off on first going in, once a man has got his eye
in, he can make any amount of forcing strokes on both sides of the
wicket, for the ball does not often hang on the pitch. Drives between
cover and extra cover, and push strokes between the bowler and mid-on
and past mid-on, can be made with great frequency, while the ball
travels to the boundary at a great pace.
Bowlers of the type of Haigh, Tate, or Howell (the Australian) are
the most successful on matting wickets, but slow bowlers are not, as
a rule, effective, and fast bowlers, unless really great ones, are
usually heavily punished.
The ordinary spikes one uses in England are quite useless on the
matting, and have to be replaced by a sort of flat nail.
The length of the matting varies in different places, and this, I
venture to think, causes great inconvenience. At present the matting
may be any length up to 22 yards, and often I found myself standing
at one wicket with both feet off the matting, at another time with
both feet on, and at another with one foot off and the other on the
matting, while at Cape Town the pins which keep the matting down were
placed just where the ordinary batsman puts his right leg. The South
African Cricket Association might very easily pass a law making the
matting uniform throughout the country, and in my opinion the matting
should stop about a foot in front of the popping-crease. This is the
length at Johannesburg. A captain may if he desires have the matting
stretched tight at the commencement of each innings. In that case the
pins are removed from the end and side of the matting, which is then
well stretched by scores of Kaffirs, and afterwards firmly pinned into
the ground. As a rule, however, merely the end pins are removed for
a minute or two, the matting is given a pull, the pins replaced, and
the matting swept, for pieces of grit and sand are very apt to collect
on the mat, and a batsman has to look out for this while he is at the
wickets.
The great difficulty which frequently besets a captain on turf wickets,
as to which roller he will put on at the commencement of his side’s
innings, or at the beginning of the day’s play, is removed, for no
rolling of the matting is necessary. Towards the end of an innings the
matting is apt to get a trifle loose, and batting is no fun then, for
should the ball pitch on one of the creases in the matting, it will
probably break very quickly; and in this case the last few batsmen have
the worst of the wicket. Winning or losing the toss, of course, makes
no difference whatever, and rain, too, has little or no effect on the
state of the pitch. One great advantage of these sandy grounds is that
play is nearly always possible within a few minutes after the heaviest
shower. I have seen the Johannesburg ground absolutely under water and
resembling a lake, and yet play in progress within three-quarters of an
hour after the rain had ceased.
Cricket on matting is not half such a good game as cricket on turf, but
as there is no turf worthy the name in South Africa, South Africans
have no other alternative but to play on matting. There is at first, to
one accustomed to grass wickets, an air of unreality about the whole
thing, and the game does not seem to be quite the same cricket we
learnt in England. For the first few weeks I hated the “mat,” but after
a while one becomes more at home on it, and at the end of the tour I
was quite fond of a matting wicket—though I never could agree with
those who said that they preferred it to grass. One thing is certain,
and that is, that playing for three or four months on matting wickets
does improve one’s batting, and makes one a more resourceful player.
At Johannesburg, Kimberley, and the grassless grounds, forward play
and hard forcing strokes score tremendously, but at Cape Town and Port
Elizabeth forcing forward strokes are at a discount; the man who can
play back well will make the most runs.
Lord Hawke’s team played seventeen matches, won fifteen, and drew two.
Five eleven-a-side matches were played, viz. two games _v._ All South
Africa, two against Cape Colony, and one against the Transvaal.
At Cape Town we played a couple of games with XIII. of the Western
Province, the remaining fixtures being chiefly against XV’s.
At Cape Town we just won our first match by 25 runs against a Western
Province XIII., chiefly owing to some grand bowling by Trott, Cuttell,
and Haigh, the Yorkshireman taking five wickets for 14 runs at the
crisis of the game. The highest total in the match was 149, and the
highest individual score 45 by H. H. Francis. Murray Bisset, who
captained the South African XI. in England, batted well in both
innings, and Rowe and Middleton took seventeen of our wickets between
them.
The return game saw us victorious by 106 runs, for we were all in
better form by this time, and more accustomed to the eccentricities
of the mat. Rowe and Middleton did even better than before, taking
nineteen wickets between them, while Trott and Haigh bowled splendidly
for us.
From Cape Town we went in turn to Graaf Reinet, Port Elizabeth,
Grahamstown, and King William’s Town, victory awaiting us at each
place. At King William’s Town we drew lots for the order of going in,
and F. Mitchell and Tyldesley put on over 100 runs for the last wicket;
but the most interesting thing about this match was a splendidly-hit
innings of 66 by Giddy, who scored his runs in three-quarters of an
hour. He twice hit Milligan out of the ground, and scored 16 off one
over of Haigh’s (there were five balls to the over at that time).
[Illustration:
_Engraved by R. Dunkarton._ _After W. Redmore Bigg, R.A._
_THE SOLDIER’S WIDOW OR SCHOOL BOY’S COLLECTION._]
We had a long railway journey from King William’s Town to Johannesburg,
but after forty-five hours in the train arrived at the “Golden City,”
where a warm welcome awaited us, the station platform being crammed
with cricket enthusiasts.
We stayed about three weeks in Johannesburg, and in that time played
three matches—the first against a Johannesburg XV., which ended in a
somewhat uninteresting draw; the second against a Transvaal XI., whom
we defeated by an innings and 201 runs; and the third against All South
Africa, which we also won, though only after a desperate struggle.
Sinclair batted and bowled well for the Johannesburg XV., and Halliwell
kept wicket superbly, while Frank Milligan did a very good bit of
bowling, for in the Johannesburgers’ first innings he sent back ten men
for but 64 runs, keeping up a good pace all the time, and making the
ball do a bit every now and again.
In the match against the Transvaal, Tyldesley played splendidly for
114, Mitchell made an equally fine 162, and Trott knocked up 101 in
a short time, our total of 539 for six wickets being, I believe, the
highest total ever made in South Africa.
We won the game against South Africa by 33 runs, Lord Hawke’s XI.
making 145 and 237, and South Africa 251 and 99. It was a splendid
fight, and at one time we looked hopelessly “in the cart”; but Trott,
Haigh, and Cuttell bowled magnificently when our opponents went in to
get the runs, while the fielding was extremely smart, and in our second
innings I was lucky enough to get 132 not out. But fortune was on my
side, as I was missed at point when I had made 94, and I rather fancy I
was stumped when I had got about 70.
For South Africa, Sinclair played a fine free innings of 86, and was
unlucky in being run out, and Llewellyn got 38 in the first innings,
and Bisset 35 and 21 not out. Llewellyn, Middleton, and Rowe, all
left-handers, took the great majority of our wickets, and we ought
really to have lost the match, but one or two of the South Africans
played rather recklessly in their second innings, and the dismissal of
Sinclair in the second over—caught at mid-off from a tremendous skyer,
by Cuttell off Haigh—seemed to destroy the confidence of the side,
though Bisset played some bowling of the highest class with great skill.
The loss of this match was a tremendous blow to supporters of cricket
in South Africa, and the disappointment in Johannesburg was keen. The
game was followed with the closest attention, and on the second day
about 8000 people were present, the takings at the gate, irrespective
of stand money, amounting to £470. At Lord’s or the Oval one can see
the best cricket in the world for the modest sixpence, but half-a-crown
was the lowest sum one could get into the Wanderers’ ground for during
Lord Hawke’s visit to Johannesburg. As a proof of the interest taken
in the match, the scores were posted up at various centres in the town
and along the reef at intervals of an hour.
Just before meeting the combined South African team we had played a
two-day match against a local XV. at Pretoria, whom we defeated by nine
wickets. Braund, the Somerset professional, was at that time acting as
coach to the Pretoria Club, and his all-round cricket was splendid, for
he made 41 runs, took six wickets, and brought off three fine catches.
From Johannesburg we went to Kimberley, and there defeated a
Griqualand West XV. by an innings and 25 runs. Most of us made runs,
for the bowling was weak, and lent itself to free hitting. Shalders
of Kimberley made 76 by very good cricket, late cutting and hooking
particularly well, playing our professional bowlers with great
confidence. The heat all through this game was almost unbearable, and
we were glad to get away to the cooler climate of Buluwayo, where we
played and won two matches, defeating a Buluwayo XVIII. and XV. of
Rhodesia. Our bowling was altogether too good for our opponents, three
or four of whom, however, showed good form. At this period of the tour
Haigh was bowling superbly, and it took a really good batsman to make
any runs against him.
An expedition to the Matoppos was not the least interesting part of a
delightful ten days in Rhodesia, and the visit of the first English
team to Rhodesia was, I think I may safely say, a great success.
Certainly Lord Hawke’s team enjoyed every moment of it.
On the way down from Buluwayo we played another match at Kimberley,
which was spoilt by heavy rain, and then, after spending two or three
days at Matjesfontein with Mr. J. D. Logan, we returned to Cape Town
for the last two matches. We beat Cape Colony by an innings and 29
runs, Haigh performing the hat trick, and Cuttell and Wilson making
98 and 69 respectively, and on Easter Tuesday wound up the tour with
a victory over South Africa; but, as at Johannesburg, our opponents
headed us in the first innings, Sinclair, six wickets for 26 runs,
being chiefly responsible for a miserable total of 92, a score which
the South Africans headed by 85 runs. Sinclair played a really great
innings. He made 106 out of 147 while he was at the wicket by splendid
cricket, driving with great power, and repeatedly bringing off a
powerful back stroke.
Tyldesley (112) played in his best form in our second innings, and as
nine men made double figures, we ran up a total of 330, which left
South Africa 246 runs to win. The general feeling was that we should
win by 50 or 60 runs, but after Shalders and Powell had scored 11 for
the first wicket, Haigh and Trott got on the war-path, and in an hour
South Africa were all out for 35! Haigh took six wickets for 11 runs,
and Trott four wickets for 19 runs. Sinclair only made 4 this time,
magnificently caught in the long field by Milligan.
A few days later we left Cape Town on the _Norman_, leaving Milligan
behind, of whom, alas! it had been written in the Book of Destiny that
he should never return to England, for fifteen months later he gave his
life for his country while fighting gallantly outside Mafeking, and his
bright and fascinating personality was taken from the cricket field. He
is buried at Ramathlabama, but, though he lies so far away, to those
who knew him well, as I am glad to think I did, his memory is ever dear.
The first English team to visit South Africa was Major Wharton’s,
in the winter of 1888-89. In those days the railway had not, I
fancy, reached even Bloemfontein—certainly there was no railway to
Johannesburg, and much of the travelling was done by ox waggon. Major
Wharton’s eleven played only two eleven-a-side matches—both against
South Africa—and won both, the second by an innings and 202 runs.
W. W. Read’s eleven beat South Africa in the only match played by an
innings and 189 runs, and Lord Hawke’s first team won their three test
matches quite easily, but his second team, of which I was a member,
only just beat South Africa at Johannesburg, and in the return at Cape
Town our opponents more than held us for two days. We did not lose a
match on the tour, but three or four times we had to fight hard to win.
The South African eleven which toured in England in 1901 did very
fairly, showing plenty of sound cricket, and giving evidence that in
a few years South Africa might hope to play the very best counties
with every chance of success, while the good form shown against the
Australians last autumn has gone far to strengthen the opinion which I
had already formed that cricket has a great future before it in South
Africa.
[Illustration]