History of cricket in South Africa to 1918
This article describes the history of South African cricket from its known beginnings until the end of the
Beginnings
European colonisation of southern Africa began on Tuesday, 6 April 1652 when the Dutch East India Company established a settlement called the Cape Colony on Table Bay, near present-day Cape Town. Cape Colony slowly expanded along the coast and into the hinterland throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. It was founded as a victualling station for the Dutch East Indies trade route but soon acquired an importance of its own due to its good farmland and mineral wealth.
There was no significant British interest in South Africa until the colony was seized by British forces in 1795 under General
It is believed that cricket was introduced to South Africa by Craig's occupying force.[2] A similar scenario had arisen throughout the British Empire. English soldiers and sailors were the pioneers of the game in numerous foreign lands.[2] One of Craig's officers was Charles Anguish (sometimes known as Charles Clarke) who had been a member of the White Conduit Club and was an early member of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). Anguish had played in 32 first-class matches between 1788 and 1795 when he departed for the Cape. He died there, by committing suicide, in May 1797.[3]
It is generally supposed that Anguish organised matches in the colony but the earliest definite reference to cricket there is dated 1808, two years after the re-occupation.[3] A newspaper called The Cape Town Gazzette and African Advertiser carried notice that:[2]
A grand match at cricket will be played for 1,000 dollars a side on Tuesday, January 5, 1808 between the officers of the artillery mess, having Colonel Austen of the 60th Regiment, and the officers of the Colony, with General Clavering. The wickets are to be pitched at 10 o'clock.
The venue for the 1808 match is unknown but there was another military match at Green Point in 1810 between the Ordnance and the 87th Regiment. There is a Green Point club, formed in the 1890s, but it is not certain if it is based at the same venue. If so, then it is the oldest known venue in South Africa.[3]
Early developments
Long before
By the middle of the 19th century, cricket had become well-established in
Cape Colony schools had adopted the game by the 1850s. Its growth in the hinterland was gradual and depended on settlers moving north from the Cape. A match was recorded in the
Beginning of first-class cricket
Two major venues opened in 1888: Newlands in Cape Town and the Old Wanderers in Johannesburg.[2] At the end of the year, an English team arrived for the first overseas tour of South Africa. Known at the time as R. G. Warton's XI after its manager, the team played odds matches against several provincial and town teams. Then, in March 1889, it played two eleven-a-side matches against a South African XI. The first was at St George's Park, the second at Newlands. Warton's XI, captained by the future Hollywood actor C. Aubrey Smith, won both games comfortably; at Cape Town, Lancashire spinner Johnny Briggs had match figures of 15 for 28.[5]
Retrospectively, these two matches were assigned first-class status, although the South African team was very weak and Warton's XI included some players who never otherwise played any first-class cricket. Then, after the concept of Test cricket had been established in the 1890s, it was officially decided in 1897 that the matches should be called South Africa versus England and so allocated Test status too.[6] First-class cricket was itself officially defined by MCC and the leading English counties in December 1894. The first match at Port Elizabeth is, therefore, both the inaugural Test played by South Africa and the inaugural first-class match played in South Africa.[6]
The tour was successful, although it did not achieve a financial profit, in that it introduced South Africa to international cricket and provided the domestic game with a huge stimulus. This was underwritten by tour sponsor Sir
Start of domestic cricket (1889 to 1891)
Domestic first-class cricket began in December 1889 when Port Elizabeth Cricket Club hosted
The Currie Cup was first contested at the end of the 1889–90 season when, as in
Four first-class matches were played in the 1890–91 season. The first three were a
1891 to 1902
No domestic matches took place in 1891–92, when England was on tour. In 1892–93, Western Province won the Currie Cup after defeating both their rivals Transvaal by 91 runs and Griqualand West by 109 runs. In the other match, Transvaal beat Griqualand West by 8 wickets.
From then on, although it was not contested every season, the Currie Cup was the established national championship.
First-class cricket in South Africa was suspended during the
1903 to 1918
In 1903–04 the Currie Cup had a change in format from a qualifying round-robin followed by a final, for which the holders had already qualified, to a knock-out competition. This allowed for the competition to be held in more than one province. In 1904–05, the competition was expanded to allow for the inclusion of
First-class cricket was suspended during the First World War from 1914 to 1919. Competition began again in the 1919–20 season.
Currie Cup winners to 1914
- 1889–90 Transvaal
- 1890–91 Griqualand West)
- 1891–92 not contested due to England tour
- 1892–93 Western Province
- 1893–94 Western Province
- 1894–95 Transvaal
- 1895–96 not contested due to England tour
- 1896–97 Western Province
- 1897–98 Western Province
- 1898–99 not contested due to England tour: first-class cricket in South Africa was suspended during the Boer Warfrom 1899 to 1902
- 1902–03 Transvaal
- 1903–04 Transvaal
- 1904–05 Transvaal
- 1905–06 not contested due to England tour
- 1906–07 Transvaal
- 1907–08 not contested
- 1908–09 Western Province
- 1909–10 not contested due to England tour
- 1910–11 Natal
- 1911–12 not contested, evidently due to preparation of a team for the 1912 Triangular Tournament in England
- 1912–13 Natal
- 1913–14 not contested due to England tour: First-class cricket in South Africa was suspended during the First World War from 1914 to 1918
International tours of South Africa to 1914
England 1888–89
- 1st Test at Port Elizabeth– England won by 8 wickets
- 2nd Test at Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town – England won by an innings and 202 runs
England 1891–92
- 1st Test at Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town – England won by an innings and 189 runs
South Africa won the toss and batted first. They were soon all out for 97, with
The game is more interesting for some historical oddities:
- Billy Murdoch and Ferris, who had both previously played for Australia, played for England due to residence.
- John Thomas Hearnealso played for the tourists.
- The tour was simultaneous to the Test status".
England 1895–96
- 1st Test at Port Elizabeth– England won by 288 runs
- 2nd Test at Old Wanderers, Johannesburg – England won by an innings and 197 runs
- 3rd Test at Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town – England won by an innings and 32 runs
England 1898–99
- 1st Test at Old Wanderers, Johannesburg – England won by 32 runs
- 2nd Test at Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town – England won by 210 runs
Australia 1902–03
- 1st Test at Old Wanderers, Johannesburg – match drawn
- 2nd Test at Old Wanderers, Johannesburg – Australia won by 159 runs
- 3rd Test at Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town – Australia won by 10 wickets
England 1905–06
- 1st Test at Old Wanderers, Johannesburg – South Africa won by 1 wicket
- 2nd Test at Old Wanderers, Johannesburg – South Africa won by 9 wickets
- 3rd Test at Old Wanderers, Johannesburg – South Africa won by 243 runs
- 4th Test at Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town – England won by 4 wickets
- 5th Test at Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town – South Africa won by an innings and 16 runs
England 1909–10
- 1st Test at Old Wanderers, Johannesburg – South Africa won by 19 runs
- 2nd Test at Lord's, Durban – South Africa won by 95 runs
- 3rd Test at Old Wanderers, Johannesburg – England won by 3 wickets
- 4th Test at Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town – South Africa won by 4 wickets
- 5th Test at Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town – England won by 9 wickets
This tour included The Reef v MCC at Boksburg. It was scheduled as a four-day match but play only took place on two because of bad weather. Although the two teams consisted of recognised players, the South African Board of Control decided as late as 1930 that it had not been a first-class match. Wisden 1931 reproduced a letter from the SABC which outlined its case. Wisden has ignored the ruling and includes the match in the career figures of all the players who took part, including record-breaking players such as Wilfred Rhodes, Jack Hobbs and Frank Woolley.
It is possible that the SABC thought it was a 2-day match, but Wisden 1911 clearly states that "not a ball could be bowled on the first and fourth days" so it was actually planned as a 4-day match. For more information about this curious affair, see Variations in published cricket statistics.
England 1913–14
- 1st Test at Lord's, Durban – England won by an innings and 157 runs
- 2nd Test at Old Wanderers, Johannesburg – England won by aninnings and 12 runs
- 3rd Test at Old Wanderers, Johannesburg – England won by 91 runs
- 4th Test at Lord's, Durban – match drawn
- 5th Test at Port Elizabeth– England won by 10 wickets
Overseas tours by South Africa to 1914
England 1894
No Test matches were played and none of the South African team's matches are rated first-class.
England 1901
Fifteen first-class and ten minor matches were played, but no Tests.
England 1904
A total of 22 matches were played but no Tests.
England 1907
- 1st Test at Lord's, London – match drawn
- 2nd Test at Headingley, Leeds – England won by 53 runs
- 3rd Test at The Oval, London – match drawn
Australia 1910–11
- 1st Test at Sydney Cricket Ground – Australia won by an innings and 114 runs
- 2nd Test at Melbourne Cricket Ground – Australia won by 89 runs
- 3rd Test at Adelaide Oval – South Africa won by 38 runs
- 4th Test at Melbourne Cricket Ground – Australia won by 530 runs
- 5th Test at Sydney Cricket Ground – Australia won by 7 wickets
England 1912
See 1912 Triangular Tournament.
References
- ^ "Itinerary of South African cricket". CricketArchive. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
- ^ ISBN 0-00-218193-2.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-00-718364-7.
- ^ a b Major, op. cit., p. 200.
- ^ a b Barclays, op. cit., p. 114.
- ^ a b Major, op. cit., p. 201.
- ^ "Port Elizabeth v Natal, 1889". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
- ^ "First-Class matches in South Africa in 1889–90". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
- ^ "Kimberley v Transvaal, Currie Cup 1889–90". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
- ^ "Champion Bat Tournament 1890–91 Table". CricketArchive. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
- ^ "Transvaal v Kimberley, Currie Cup 1890–91". CricketArchive. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
Further reading
- Altham, H. S. (1962). A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914). London: George Allen & Unwin.
- ISBN 0-413-27860-3.
- ISBN 0-7188-7022-0.
- South African Cricket Annual – various editions
- Various writers, A Century of South Africa in Test & International Cricket 1889–1989, Ball, 1989