South African cricket team in England in 1947

The South African cricket team toured England in the 1947 season to play a five-match Test series against England. The team was captained by Alan Melville with Dudley Nourse as his vice-captain (v/c). England won the series with three wins and two matches drawn. This was the second Test series hosted by England since the end of World War II in 1945. South Africa's previous visit to England was their successful 1935 tour.

Background

1947 was a year in which the weather frequently made headlines in Great Britain. After one of the coldest winters on record, the summer was uncharacteristically warm and sunny.[1] In terms of cricket, what the new Playfair Cricket Annual called a "glorious summer" contrasted sharply with the wet summer of 1946.[2] The country was still recovering from the war with austerity and rationing a fact of daily life, but sporting events were eagerly awaited and drew large attendances.[3]

South African squad

South Africa brought a 17-man squad captained by Alan Melville. Squad details below state the player's age at the beginning of the tour, his batting hand, his type of bowling, and his provincial Currie Cup team at the time:

Batsmen
Name Currie Cup Birth date Batting style Bowling style Ref
Alan Melville (captain) Transvaal (1910-05-19)19 May 1910 (aged 36)right-handedoff break, leg break and googly[4]
Dudley Nourse (v/c) Natal (1910-11-12)12 November 1910 (aged 36)right-handednone[5]
Denis Begbie Transvaal (1914-12-14)14 December 1914 (aged 32)right-handedoff break, leg break and googly[6]
Dennis Dyer Natal (1914-05-02)2 May 1914 (aged 32)right-handedslow left-arm orthodox spin[7]
Tony Harris Transvaal (1916-08-27)27 August 1916 (aged 30)right-handednone[8]
Ken Viljoen Transvaal (1910-05-14)14 May 1910 (aged 36)right-handednone[9]
All-rounders
Name Currie Cup Birth date Batting style Bowling style Ref
Ossie Dawson Natal (1919-09-01)1 September 1919 (aged 27)right-handedright arm medium pace[10]
Bruce Mitchell Transvaal (1909-01-08)8 January 1909 (aged 38)right-handedleg break[11]
Wicket-keepers
Name Currie Cup Birth date Batting style Bowling style Ref
George Fullerton Transvaal (1922-12-08)8 December 1922 (aged 24)right-handednone[12]
Johnny Lindsay Transvaal (1908-09-08)8 September 1908 (aged 38)right-handednone[13]
Douglas Ovenstone Western Province (1920-12-28)28 December 1920 (aged 26)right-handednone[14]
Bowlers
Name Currie Cup Birth date Batting style Bowling style Ref
Tufty Mann Eastern Province (1920-12-28)28 December 1920 (aged 26)right-handedslow left-arm orthodox spin[15]
Leslie Payn Natal (1915-05-06)6 May 1915 (aged 31)right-handedslow left-arm orthodox spin[16]
Jack Plimsoll Western Province (1917-10-27)27 October 1917 (aged 29)right-handedleft-arm fast bowling medium fast[17]
Athol Rowan Transvaal (1921-02-07)7 February 1921 (aged 26)right-handedoff break[18]
Ian Smith Natal (1925-02-25)25 February 1925 (aged 22)right-handedleg break[19]
Lindsay Tuckett Orange Free State (1919-02-06)6 February 1919 (aged 28)right-handedright-arm fast bowling medium fast[20]

England selections

England chose a total of 21 players to represent them in the series. Five players took part in all five Test matches: captain Norman Yardley; batsmen Len Hutton, Cyril Washbrook and Denis Compton; and wicket-keeper Godfrey Evans.

Test series summary

First Test
7–11 June 1947
(4-day match)
Scorecard
Wisden
v
533 (196.3 overs)
A. Melville 189
W. E. Hollies 5/123 (55.2 overs)
208 (113.1 overs)
D. C. S. Compton 65
L. T. D. Tuckett 5/68 (37 overs)
166/1 (51 overs)
A. Melville 104*
A. V. Bedser 1/31 (14 overs)
551 (f/o) (226.2 overs)
D. C. S. Compton 163
V. I. Smith 4/143 (51 overs)

Second Test
21–25 June 1947
(4-day match)
Scorecard
Wisden
v
554/8d (215 overs)
D. C. S. Compton 208
L. T. D. Tuckett 5/115 (47 overs)
327 (142.2 overs)
A. Melville 117
D. V. P. Wright 5/95 (39 overs)
26/0 (12.1 overs)
L. Hutton 13*
C. Washbrook 13*
252 (f/o) (127.2 overs)
B. Mitchell 80
D. V. P. Wright 5/80 (32.2 overs)
England won by 10 wickets
Lord's, London
Umpires: H. G. Baldwin and D. Davies
  • England won the toss and elected to bat
  • 22 June was taken as a rest day
  • G. H. Pope (ENG) made his Test debut

Third Test
5–9 July 1947
(4-day match)
Scorecard
Wisden
v
339 (166.1 overs)
K. G. Viljoen 93
W. J. Edrich 4/95 (35.1 overs)
478 (151.3 overs)
W. J. Edrich 191
L. T. D. Tuckett 4/148 (50 overs)
267 (84.4 overs)
A. D. Nourse 115
W. J. Edrich 4/77 (22.4 overs)
130/3 (36.5 overs)
C. Washbrook 40
N. B. F. Mann 2/19 (14 overs)
England won by 7 wickets
Old Trafford, Manchester
Umpires: F. Chester and C. A. R. Coleman

Fourth Test
26–29 July 1947
(4-day match)
Scorecard
Wisden
v
175 (97.1 overs)
B. Mitchell 53
H. J. Butler 4/34 (28 overs)
317/7d (154 overs)
L. Hutton 100
N. B. F. Mann 4/68 (50 overs)
184 (80 overs)
A. D. Nourse 57
K. Cranston 4/12 (7 overs)
47/0 (15.4 overs)
L. Hutton 32*
England won by 10 wickets
Headingley, Leeds
Umpires: F. Chester and J. J. Hills
  • South Africa won the toss and elected to bat.
  • 27 July was taken as a rest day; the match was scheduled for four days but completed in three
  • G. M. Fullerton (SA), and J. A. Young and H. J. Butler (both ENG) made their Test debuts;
    K. Cranston ended the South African second innings with four wickets in six balls (W.W.WW)

Fifth Test
16–20 August 1947
(4-day match)
Scorecard
Wisden
v
427 (190 overs)
L. Hutton 83
N. B. F. Mann 4/93 (64 overs)
302 (131 overs)
B. Mitchell 120
W. H. Copson 3/46 (27 overs)
325/6d (77 overs)
D. C. S. Compton 113
A. M. B. Rowan 3/95 (25 overs)
423/7 (141 overs)
B. Mitchell 189*
R. Howorth 3/85 (37 overs)
Match drawn
The Oval, London
Umpires: H. G. Baldwin and J. A. Smart
  • England won the toss and elected to bat
  • 17 August was taken as a rest day
  • J. D. B. Robertson and R. Howorth (both ENG) made their Test debuts

References
  1. Met Office. "The winter of 1946/47". Archived from the original on December 2009. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  2. Playfair, p. 8.
  3. "Wisden Almanack – 1948". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  4. "Alan Melville". CricketArchive. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  5. "Dudley Nourse". CricketArchive. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  6. "Denis Begbie". CricketArchive. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  7. "Dennis Dyer". CricketArchive. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  8. "Tony Harris". CricketArchive. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  9. "Ken Viljoen". CricketArchive. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  10. "Ossie Dawson". CricketArchive. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  11. "Bruce Mitchell". CricketArchive. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  12. "George Fullerton". CricketArchive. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  13. "Johnny Lindsay". CricketArchive. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  14. "Douglas Ovenstone". CricketArchive. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  15. "Tufty Mann". CricketArchive. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  16. "Leslie Payn". CricketArchive. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  17. "Jack Plimsoll". CricketArchive. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  18. "Athol Rowan". CricketArchive. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  19. "Ian Smith". CricketArchive. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  20. "Lindsay Tuckett". CricketArchive. Retrieved 17 March 2018.

Bibliography
  • Playfair. West, Peter (ed.). Playfair Cricket Annual (1st edition) (1948 ed.). London: Playfair Books Ltd.
  • Wisden. Preston, Hubert (ed.). Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 85th edition (1948 ed.). London: John Wisden & Co. Ltd.

Further reading
  • Louis Duffus, South African Cricket, Volume 3, 1927-1947, The South African Cricket Association, 1948
  • Various writers, A Century of South Africa in Test & International Cricket 1889-1989, Ball, 1989
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