South African cricket team in England in 1947 explained

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)		April 30, 1947	right-handed		^[4]
Dudley Nourse (v/c)		April 30, 1947	right-handed	none	^[5]
Denis Begbie		April 30, 1947	right-handed		^[6]
Dennis Dyer		April 30, 1947	right-handed		^[7]
Tony Harris		April 30, 1947	right-handed	none	^[8]
Ken Viljoen		April 30, 1947	right-handed	none	^[9]

All-rounders

Name	Currie Cup	Birth date	Batting style	Bowling style	Ref
Ossie Dawson		April 30, 1947	right-handed		^[10]
Bruce Mitchell		April 30, 1947	right-handed		^[11]

Wicket-keepers

Name	Currie Cup	Birth date	Batting style	Bowling style	Ref
George Fullerton		April 30, 1947	right-handed	none	^[12]
Johnny Lindsay		April 30, 1947	right-handed	none	^[13]
Douglas Ovenstone		April 30, 1947	right-handed	none	^[14]

Bowlers

Name	Currie Cup	Birth date	Batting style	Bowling style	Ref
Tufty Mann		April 30, 1947	right-handed		^[15]
Leslie Payn		April 30, 1947	right-handed		^[16]
Jack Plimsoll		April 30, 1947	right-handed	left-arm fast bowling medium fast	^[17]
Athol Rowan		April 30, 1947	right-handed		^[18]
Ian Smith		April 30, 1947	right-handed		^[19]
Lindsay Tuckett		April 30, 1947	right-handed	right-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

Fifth Test

Bibliography

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

Further reading

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

External links

• CricketArchive  - tour summaries
• Short British Pathe newsreel of the team arriving in England and signing autographs

Notes and References

1. Web site: The winter of 1946/47 . http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20091210010121/http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/corporate/pressoffice/anniversary/winter1946-47.html . dead . 2009-12-10 . Met Office . Met Office . 10 March 2018.
2. Playfair, p. 8.
3. Web site: Wisden Almanack – 1948 . ESPNcricinfo . 10 March 2018.
4. Web site: Alan Melville . CricketArchive . 10 March 2018.
5. Web site: Dudley Nourse . CricketArchive . 17 March 2018.
6. Web site: Denis Begbie . CricketArchive . 17 March 2018.
7. Web site: Dennis Dyer . CricketArchive . 17 March 2018.
8. Web site: Tony Harris . CricketArchive . 17 March 2018.
9. Web site: Ken Viljoen . CricketArchive . 17 March 2018.
10. Web site: Ossie Dawson . CricketArchive . 17 March 2018.
11. Web site: Bruce Mitchell . CricketArchive . 17 March 2018.
12. Web site: George Fullerton . CricketArchive . 17 March 2018.
13. Web site: Johnny Lindsay . CricketArchive . 17 March 2018.
14. Web site: Douglas Ovenstone . CricketArchive . 17 March 2018.
15. Web site: Tufty Mann . CricketArchive . 17 March 2018.
16. Web site: Leslie Payn . CricketArchive . 17 March 2018.
17. Web site: Jack Plimsoll . CricketArchive . 17 March 2018.
18. Web site: Athol Rowan . CricketArchive . 17 March 2018.
19. Web site: Ian Smith . CricketArchive . 17 March 2018.
20. Web site: Lindsay Tuckett . CricketArchive . 17 March 2018.