Series Name: | England in South Africa in 1909–10 |
Team1 Image: | Flag of England.svg |
Team1 Name: | England |
Team2 Name: | South Africa |
From Date: | 1 December 1909 |
To Date: | 14 March 1910 |
Team1 Captain: | HDG Leveson Gower (1st–3rd Test) FL Fane (4th–5th Test) |
Team2 Captain: | SJ Snooke |
No Of Tests: | 5 |
Team1 Tests Won: | 2 |
Team2 Tests Won: | 3 |
Team1 Tests Most Runs: | JB Hobbs (539)[1] |
Team2 Tests Most Runs: | GA Faulkner (545) |
Team1 Tests Most Wickets: | GHT Simpson-Hayward (23)[2] |
Team2 Tests Most Wickets: | AEE Vogler (36) |
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.
South Africa won the Test series 3–2.
Match length: 5 days (excluding Sundays). Balls per over: 6.
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.[4]
For more information about this curious affair, see: Variations in First-Class Cricket Statistics.