English cricket team in South Africa in 1909–10

England in South Africa in 1909–10
England in South Africa in 1909–10
	England
Dates	1 December 1909 – 14 March 1910
Captains	HDG Leveson Gower (1st–3rd Test); FL Fane (4th–5th Test)
Test series
Result	South Africa won the 5-match series 3–2
Most runs	JB Hobbs (539)
Most wickets	GHT Simpson-Hayward (23)

The tour by the English cricket team in South Africa in 1909–10 was organised by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). The team played as MCC in the non-Test fixtures and as England in the five Test matches. They played 14 first-class matches including the Tests, winning 7 times with 3 draws and 4 defeats.^[3]

England was captained by H. D. G. Leveson Gower. South Africa's captain in the Test series was Tip Snooke.

Test series summary

South Africa won the Test series 3–2.

Match length: 5 days (excluding Sundays). Balls per over: 6.

First Test

1–5 January 1910
Scorecard

South Africa	v	England
208 (63 overs) GA Faulkner 78 GHT Simpson-Hayward 6/43 (16 overs)		310 (90.1 overs) JB Hobbs 89 AEE Vogler 5/87 (30.1 overs)
345 (114 overs) GA Faulkner 123 CP Buckenham 4/110 (39 overs)		224 (53.2 overs) GJ Thompson 63 AEE Vogler 7/94 (22 overs)

South Africa won by 19 runs
Old Wanderers, Johannesburg
Umpires: AJ Atfield and FW Grey

South Africa won the toss and elected to bat.
2 January was taken as a rest day
JW Zulch, LA Stricker, JMM Commaille and T Campbell (all SA), and MC Bird, CP Buckenham, HDG Leveson-Gower, GHT Simpson-Hayward and H Strudwick (all ENG) made their Test debuts.
Simpson-Hayward, the last of the great lob bowlers and playing in his only Test series, dismissed Zulch with his fifth ball and returned his best Test analysis at the first attempt.^[4]

Second Test

21–26 January 1910
Scorecard

South Africa	v	England
199 (106.5 overs) T Campbell 48 GHT Simpson-Hayward 4/42 (23.5 overs)		199 (75.1 overs) JB Hobbs 53 AEE Vogler 5/83 (30 overs)
347 (130.2 overs) GC White 118 GHT Simpson-Hayward 3/66 (23 overs)		252 (82.4 overs) JB Hobbs 70 GA Faulkner 6/87 (33.4 overs)

South Africa won by 95 runs
Lord's, Durban
Umpires: FW Grey and FE Smith

South Africa won the toss and elected to bat.
23 January was taken as a rest day
the first Test to have equal first innings scores^[5]

Third Test

26 February–3 March 1910
Scorecard

South Africa	v	England
305 (84 overs) GA Faulkner 76 CP Buckenham 5/115 (31 overs)		322 (82.4 overs) D Denton 104 GA Faulkner 4/89 (30 overs)
237 (90.1 overs) SJ Snooke 52 GHT Simpson-Hayward 5/69 (22 overs)		221/7 (58.4 overs) JB Hobbs 93* AEE Vogler 4/109 (25 overs)

England won by 3 wickets
Old Wanderers, Johannesburg
Umpires: AJ Atfield and FW Grey

South Africa won the toss and elected to bat.
27 February was taken as a rest day
CE Floquet and SJ Pegler (both SA) made their Test debuts.

Fourth Test

7–9 March 1910
Scorecard

England	v	South Africa
203 (53 overs) FE Woolley 69 GC White 2/5 (1 over)		207 (67 overs) JMM Commaille 42 GJ Thompson 4/50 (16 overs)
178 (51.3 overs) FE Woolley 64 AEE Vogler 5/72 (21.3 overs)		175/6 (59.3 overs) GA Faulkner 49* GJ Thompson 3/62 (20.3 overs)

South Africa won by 4 wickets
Newlands, Cape Town
Umpires: AJ Atfield and SL Harris

England won the toss and elected to bat.

Fifth Test

11–14 March 1910
Scorecard

England	v	South Africa
417 (108.2 overs) JB Hobbs 187 NO Norton 4/47 (15 overs)		103 (38.5 overs) JW Zulch 43* C Blythe 7/46 (18 overs)
16/1 (4.1 overs) D Denton 16* AEE Vogler 1/16 (2.1 overs)		327 (f/o) (99 overs) GA Faulkner 99 FE Woolley 3/47 (13 overs)

England won by 9 wickets
Newlands, Cape Town
Umpires: AJ Atfield and SL Harris

England won the toss and elected to bat.
13 March was taken as a rest day
NC Tufnell (ENG), and NO Norton and SV Samuelson (both SA) made their Test debuts.

The Reef v MCC

The 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.^[6]

For more information about this curious affair, see: Variations in First-Class Cricket Statistics.

References

^ ^a ^b Records / England in South Africa Test series, 1909/10 / Most runs
^ ^a ^b Records / England in South Africa Test series, 1909/10 / Most wickets
^ Roy Webber, The Playfair Book of Cricket Records, Playfair Books, 1951
^ Frindall, Bill (2000). The Wisden Book Of Test Cricket: Volume 1 1877-1970. London: Headline Book Publishing. p. 108. ISBN 0747272735.
^ Frindall, Bill (2000). The Wisden Book Of Test Cricket: Volume 1 1877-1970. London: Headline Book Publishing. p. 109. ISBN 0747272735.
^ Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 1911