Tour of South Africa 1994-95           Captain : Ken Rutherford

Thirty-first official Test tour.

Third Test-playing tour of South Africa by New Zealand

 (October 1994 -

          January 1995)

A damning report for New Zealand Cricket about the tour management was leaked to the press and shed light on the disastrous tour.  Yet on the playing side things had started so well. At Johannesburg the New Zealanders set South Africa a daunting target of 327. Victory came when the final seven South African wickets fell before lunch for 39 runs to the bowling of Hart, with career-best figures of 5-77, and Doull, with 4-33. However, New Zealand celebrated their victory too early, because they then lost six one-day internationals on the trot.  The team lost its intensity, rifts began to appear and it soon became a tour in crisis. They lost the next two Test matches - becoming the first team since England in 1888 to lose a three-match series after winning the first Test.

Geoff Howarth failed as the coach to maintain discipline and motivation, eventually falling out with the team and opting out of problems which were left to captain Ken Rutherford, troubled by his marriage falling apart, and vice-captain Martin Crowe, troubled by his fitness. The tour party split into cliques along provincial lines. Ill-discipline included late-night drinking and a pot-smoking episode: Fleming, Hart and Nash were all fined after admitting to smoking cannabis at a barbeque which the management failed to head off. The players were accused of lacking pride in representing New Zealand.

The New Zealanders returned home with the expectation that Howarth and Rutherford would lose their jobs. Rutherford had played too many reckless shots and been heavily fined for abusing the umpire. Geoff Howarth resigned amid speculation that he was about to be sacked, and Mike Sandlant stood down as well while Rutherford was dismissed at the end of the home season.

All New Zealand tours

Previous tour

England 1994

Next tour

India 1995-96

Next tour of South Africa

2005-06

Members of the Test tour party (16 + 1)

Opening batsmen  Blair Hartland, Bryan Young, Darrin Murray.

Middle-order batsmen  Martin Crowe, Ken Rutherford, Shane Thomson, Stephen Fleming

Wicket-keepers  Adam Parore,  Lee Germon

All-rounder  Chris Harris

Spin bowlers  Matthew Hart

Fast bowlers  Richard de Groen,  Dion Nash, Chris Pringle, Simon Doull, Murphy Su’a, [+ Danny Morrison (reinforcement)]

Provincial representation

A - Auckland (2)

C - Canterbury (5)

CD - Central Districts (0)

ND - Northern Districts (7)

O - Otago (1)

W - Wellington (1) 

Average age of  team at time of first Test match

(25 November 1994) : 

26 yrs   9 months.

ODI  played in (W) Wills World series in India (M) Mandela Trophy in South Africa.

Test Appearances made before the tour

Crowe 70,  Rutherford 48,  Morrison 35,  Parore 12,  Pringle 11,  Su’a 11,  Thomson 11,  Hartland 9,  Young 8,  Nash 6,  Doull 6,  Hart 6,  Harris 5,  de Groen 4,  Fleming 4,  Priest 1,  Murray 0,  Germon 0

Team Officials

Selectors

Ross Dykes (convenor),  Bevan Congdon,  Mike Shrimpton.

Selection

On 10 August 1994 Ken Rutherford was made captain for the tours of India and South Africa.

It seemed doubtful that Geoff Howarth would continue as coach but he was eventually retained.

Unavailable : Chris Cairns and Danny Morrison (both injured);  Martin Crowe said he was available for the South African tour but asked to be excused from the four one-dayers in India as his knee needed time to recover.

Tour Party Announced  : 4 October 1994.

Not selected:  Mark Greatbatch (owing to lack of form).

Time between selection and departure from New Zealand

  18 days

(4 October to 22 October)

Travel

Auckland? QNewDelhi  Q Johannesburg

The New Zealand team departed from Aucklandon Saturday 22 October 1994

The New Zealanders came into the Wills World Series in India (1st match 26 October 1994) straight from a three-month winter break.

They flew to South Africa immediately after the triangular one-day series in New Delhi

The first New Zealand team to tour South Africa since John Reid's 1961-62 side was welcomed at Jan Smuts Airport, Johannesburg, by UCB Managing Director Ali Bacher on Friday 4 November 1994.

Martin Crowe was already in South Africa where he was joined by the touring party after having more time to recuperate from his knee operation.

The team had several days of net practice before their first game.

Time spent in South Africa

   x days

(4 November - depart Host)

On-tour selection panel

Ken Rutherford (captain),  Geoff Howarth (coach),  Martin Crowe (vice-captain). 

Mike Sandlant and physio Mark Plummer also attended, without voting.

Reinforcements

ADDED ▷     Morrison

◁ W/D   Nash

Mark Priest joined the tour party for the Mandela Trophy one-day international series.

Danny Morrison, now fit again, was called in after Dion Nash suffered a side injury. (Nash did not play after 18 Dec in East London but was still among the tour party in the events at Paarl). Morrison played in the last two Tests.

Fixtures/Results

*  The match at Paarl was abandoned because of a dangerous pitch after 22 wickets fell on the first day.

† not first-class

§  one-day international

(Wills World Series in India and Mandela Quadrangular in South Africa)

Time spent in South Africa before First Test: 

21 days

(4 November - 25 November)

Test appearances on tour

3  -    Crowe,  Doull,  Fleming,  Hart,  Murray,  Parore,  Rutherford,  Thomson,  Young.

2  -    Morrison,  Pringle.

1  -    de Groen,  Nash.

0  -    Germon,  Harris,  Hartland 0,  Priest,  Su’a.

Highlights

•   Simon Doull helped bowl New Zealand to a famous victory with 4-32 in the 2nd innings.

•   Matthew Hart also took 5-77 to bowl South Africa out for 189 when chasing 327 at Johannesburg

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Tour Summary

Return to New Zealand

Johannesburg  Q Wellington

The touring party left South Africa on ….. (last match ends 6 Jan)

and arrived home in Wellington on Monday 9 January 1995.

Time away from New Zealand    78 days  

(23 October to 9 January)

Finances

Tour accounts

There is no tour book but lengthy accounts are found in several books:

“A Hell of a Way to Make a Living”  (1995) Ken Rutherford & Chris Mirams [Hodder Moa]

“Out on a Limb – My own story” (1995)  Martin Crowe [Raupo Publishing / Reed]

“Save the Last Ball for Me”  (1998) Chris Pringle [Celebrity Books]

“Stirred but not Shaken”  (1998) by Geoff Howarth /Ian Hepenstall [Hodder Moa Beckett]

“Stephen Fleming, Balance of Power”  (2005) by Richard Boock [Hodder & Stoughton]

Postscript