Third Test-playing tour of England by South Africa
(April - October 1924)
Although Nourse and Taylor scored nearly 2000 runs each during the season, they had many more opportunities to run up such totals than on other South African tours, and on the whole this team should go down as one of its country's weakest. The batting reached the depths of being bowled out for 30 in the first Test match.All the bowlers' skills and experience on matting wickets at home were no preparation for using the sodden wickets encountered in a blighted summer and they were not up to requirements. This may be evidenced by calling up reinforcements to bolster the team: fast-medium bowler George Parker, who had no first-class experience, was called up from his Bradford League club, Eccleshall, to play in the first two Test matches, and then Aubrey Faulkner, aged 42, answered an appeal to play in the Lord's Test and batted at number 8.
Even before that, Sidney Pegler, a medium-fast bowler not in the original selection, was pressed into service on the ship as he was travelling to England on leave from the District Commissioner's office in Nyasaland (now Malawi).The management sought and obtained permission to include him.Parker and Pegler carried the bowling in the first Test.
The average age of the touring side was more than 33 years and it suffered more than its share of injury problems.
R P Fitzgerald, Sibley J Snooke, R Tancred, Percy W Sherwell, Frank Reid and G Kempis.
Selection
After a trial match between Commaille's XI and Lindsay's XI at the Wanderers, the team was chosen.
Unavailable: J W Zulch
Tour Party Announced :3 January 1924.
Not selected :
Time between selection and departure from South Africa
94 days
(3 January to 6 April)
Travel
Allsop and the Transvaal players arrived at Cape Town by train on the day the South African playing season ended. The team sailed from Table Bay on the 'Arundel Castle' on 6 April and arrived at Madeira on 16 April. The ship left the next day and docked at Southampton on 21 April.
Time spent in England
158 days
(21 April - 26 September)
On-tour selection panel
Taylor, Commaille, Nourse.
Reinforcements
S J Pegler
T
35
LB
Sid Pegler was not amongst the announced squad of fifteen but played a full part in the tour, appearing in 30 matches.
G A Parker
-
25
RFM
George Parker(no first-class appearances but from the Cape area) made an appearance against Oxford University and bowled with such hostility that the South Africans wondered how he had been left out of the touring side.
G A Faulkner
T
42
RHBLBG
Aubrey Faulknerwas surprisingly included in the second Test at Lord's when Nupen (back strain) and Bissett (ankle) were injured.
Bissett broke his ankle in June - he did not play again on tour.
Dixon did not play again on tour after the Durham match.
•George Parker, in only his second first-class match, took 6-152 in his first Test innings.
•South Africa responded to being bowled out for 30, their lowest score, with 390, following-on.
•Catterall scored 120 in the first Test and made another century with the exact same score in the second Test.
Tour Summary
P
W
L
D
Aban
Test Matches
5
0
3
2
-
Other first-class matches
30
8
6
16
-
ϯMinor matches
3
0
0
3
-
All Matches
38
8
9
21
-
Return to South Africa
On 26 September 1924 team members took a train from Waterloo Station, London, and sailed from Southampton Docks in the 'Armadale Castle'.Deane, Bissett, Dixon and Hands had preceded the rest of the team. Blanckenberg and Pegler remained in England. The arrival of the ship back at Cape Town on Sunday 12 October was delayed by fog.