Fourth Test-playing tour of England by South Africa
(April -
October 1924)
Herbie
Taylor, who wished to make way for younger players made himself unavailable
for the tour, the first he had missed since his debut in 1912.
On
their fifth Test-playing trip to England
in 28 years the South Africans at last won a
Test match, and then the series. The Lord’s Test was played on a grass pitch
made bare by an invasion of crane flies and South
Africa skittled England out for innings of 198
and 151. This was the only match that produced a result, giving South Africa
a first series win.
Among
the batsman Dalton,
Viljoen and Nourse all scored plenty of runs and newcomer Eric Rowan topped
the tour aggregates with almost 2000 first-class runs. But the leading
batsman was Bruce Mitchell, whose 164 not out at Lord’s and 128 at The Oval,
came at critical moments to hold on to the Test series.
With so
many players being unfit at one stage (Balaskas, Bell, Crisp, Siedle and Wade) it seemed
likely that Owen-Smith would be called up to join the tour, so breaking his
Middlesex qualification. Eventually, the tourists decided they did not need a
reinforcement, although the load put a strain on the principal players.
The
tour was also a financial success returning a profit of £12 000, easily the
best so far achieved on a South African tour in England. The team sailed home on the ‘Windsor Castle’,
calling at Madeira on the way, and it is
believed that there the vice-captain, Jock Cameron, contracted the enteric
fever that caused his death.
J H Tandy,J B
PerringandT E Holmes chose the side, aided by H F
Wade who was appointed captain, as announced on 1 January.
Selection
Unavailable:H W Taylor
(who wished to make way for younger players);C L Vincent (at first);
Tour Party announced:3 January 1935.
Not selected:E P ‘Buster’ Nupen (the
selectors supposed him to be a matting bowler only); batsman A W ‘Dooley’ Briscoe;fast bowler Norman Gordon.
Time between selection and departure from South Africa
85 days
(3 January to 29 March)
Travel
Cape TownTSouthampton
‘Armadale
Castle’
Cameron, Vincent, Mitchell, Rowan and Langton left
from Johannesburg
railway station on the evening of 27 March.General Smuts had been the honoured guest at a farewell dinner at City
Hall.
The team sailed from Cape Town
on the ‘Armadale
Castle’ on 29 March, and arrived
at Southampton on 15 April.
None, despite so many
players being unfit at one stage (Balaskas, Bell, Crisp, Siedle and Wade)
that it seemed likely that H G Owen-Smith would be called up to join the
tour, so breaking his Middlesex qualification.
Eventually,
the tourists decided they did not need a reinforcement, although a South
African journalist, Louis Duffus, was called upon to field as substitute
against Glamorgan.
While
Nourse played in 39 matches, Balaskas and Williams each appeared in only 14.
•Balaskas
bowled South Africa to
their first victory in Englandwith figures of 5-49 and 4-54.
•Crisp
took107 wickets on tour, including
5-99 in the Old Trafford Test match
Tour Summary
P
W
L
D
Aban
Test Matches
5
1
0
4
-
Other first-class matches
26
16
2
8
-
Minor matches
8
5
0
3
-
All Matches
39
22
2
15
-
Return to South Africa
SouthamptonTCape
Town
‘Windsor
Castle’
After
the matches in England the
tourists sailed from Harwich for Holland
on 13 September (except Wade who was confined to bed with an ear
infection).There was a two-day match
at The Hague,
played on a matting wicket laid over rolled gravel.Then the team returned to London
The
touring party sailed home from Southampton on 20 September on the ‘Windsor
Castle’, arriving at Cape Town on 7 October.
Williams
remained in England
after the tour to become a student. Vincent announced that he was retiring
from the game.
The
ship called at Madeira on the way home, and it
is believed that there Jock Cameron contracted the enteric fever that caused
his death.
Time away from South
Africa192 days
(29 March to 7 October)
Finances
The profit of £12 000 was easily the best
achieved by a South African side in England thus far.
Published
accounts of the tour
“Maiden
Victory”(2013)by Brian Bassano and Rick Smith(pubJ W McKenzie, London).