The 1912 Triangular Tournament was a

Test cricket Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last fo ...

competition played between

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, the only Test-playing nations at the time. The ultimate winners of the tournament were England, with four wins in their six matches, but the tournament was deemed a failure, with disappointing crowds and uncompetitive cricket, caused in part by a weakened Australia team. The tournament was the first tournament in Test history to be played between more than two nations. It was the only such tournament until the

Asian Test Championship The ACC Asian Test Championship was a professional Test cricket tournament contested between the Test playing nations of Asia: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. It is not a regular event in the cricketing calendar and has so far been held ...

s of 1998–99 and 2001–02, and the

ICC World Test Championship The ICC World Test Championship is a league competition for Test cricket run by the International Cricket Council (ICC), which started on 1 August 2019. It is intended to be the premier championship for Test cricket. It is in line with the ...

which began in 2019.

Background

The idea of a competition involving all three of the nations then playing Test cricket (Australia, England and South Africa) was proposed at the first meeting of the Imperial Cricket Council in July, 1909. The original proposal was for a tournament to be held every four years, with the first hosted by England in 1912. For a variety of reasons, the tournament was not a success. The summer was one of the wettest since records began in 1766: rainfall in the three months of June, July and August was more than twice the annual average, and August, 1912, was the coldest, dullest and wettest August of the 20th century. At that time, pitches were not covered to protect them against rain, so the batsmen were at a distinct disadvantage on the

proverb A proverb (from la, proverbium) is a simple and insightful, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and use formulaic speech, formulaic language. A proverbial phra ...

ial

sticky wicket A sticky wicket (or sticky dog, or glue pot) is a metaphor used to describe a difficult circumstance. It originated as a term for difficult circumstances in the sport of cricket, caused by a damp and soft wicket. In cricket The phrase comes fr ...

. These problems were exacerbated since Tests in England were in those days played over three days rather than the five days that is now usual. Two of the matches between England and Australia were drawn due to the weather, with the final match being played on a pitch said to be "better suited to

water polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...

". In addition, disputes between the players and management in Australia meant that six leading Australian players refused to tour (including the captain,

Clem Hill Clement "Clem" Hill (18 March 18775 September 1945) was an Australian cricketer who played 49 Test matches as a specialist batsman between 1896 and 1912. He captained the Australian team in ten Tests, winning five and losing five. A prolifi ...

, and

Victor Trumper Victor Thomas Trumper (2 November 1877 – 28 June 1915) was an Australian cricketer known as the most stylish and versatile batsman of the Golden Age of cricket, capable of playing match-winning innings on wet wickets his contemporaries found ...

, neither of whom played for Australia again), weakening a side that had otherwise been level with England in recent Ashes series. The

leg spin Leg spin is a type of spin bowling in cricket. A leg spinner bowls right-arm with a wrist spin action. The leg spinner's normal delivery causes the ball to spin from right to left (from the bowler's perspective) when the ball bounces on the ...

and

googly In the game of cricket, a googly refers to a type of delivery bowled by a right-arm leg spin bowler. It is different from the normal delivery for a leg-spin bowler in that it is turning the other way. The googly is ''not'' a variation of the ...

bowlers in the South African side were very effective on the matting pitches then in use in South Africa, but were less threatening on English grass pitches. As a result, England dominated, winning four of their six matches and drawing the other two. Finally, the British public showed little interest: in the words of ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'': "Nine Tests provide a surfeit of cricket, and contests between Australia and South Africa are not a great attraction to the British public." The tournament was so unsuccessful that it has never been repeated. The idea of a tournament of international cricket matches between more than two countries was not repeated, outside of regional tournaments in East Africa and the West Indies, until the invention of

One Day International A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World C ...

cricket and the first

Cricket World Cup The Cricket World Cup (officially known as ICC Men's Cricket World Cup) is the international championship of One Day International (ODI) cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), e ...

in 1975. The only other Test cricket tournaments in history were the

s played in 1998–99 and 2001–02, which were also not great successes, until the

began in 2019.

Squad

;England *

C. B. Fry Charles Burgess Fry (25 April 1872 – 7 September 1956) was an English sportsman, teacher, writer, editor and publisher, who is best remembered for his career as a cricketer. John Arlott described him with the words: "Charles Fry could b ...

(captain) *

Jack Hobbs Sir John Berry Hobbs (16 December 1882– 21 December 1963), always known as Jack Hobbs, was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey from 1905 to 1934 and for England in 61 Test matches between 1908 and 1930. Known as "The Mast ...

Wilfred Rhodes Wilfred Rhodes (29 October 1877 – 8 July 1973) was an English professional cricketer who played 58 Test matches for England between 1899 and 1930. In Tests, Rhodes took 127 wickets and scored 2,325 runs, becoming the first Englishman ...

* Reginald Spooner *

Frank Woolley Frank Edward Woolley (27 May 1887 – 18 October 1978) was an English professional cricketer who played for Kent County Cricket Club between 1906 and 1938 and for the England cricket team. A genuine all-rounder, Woolley was a left-handed batsman ...

Johnny Douglas John William Henry Tyler Douglas (3 September 1882 – 19 December 1930) was an English cricketer who was active in the early decades of the twentieth century. Douglas was an all-rounder who played for Essex County Cricket Club from 1901 to 1 ...

* Jack Hearne *

Pelham Warner Sir Pelham Francis Warner, (2 October 1873 – 30 January 1963), affectionately and better known as Plum Warner or "the Grand Old Man" of English cricket, was a Test cricketer and cricket administrator. He was knighted for services to sport in ...

* Frank Foster *

Schofield Haigh Schofield Haigh (19 March 1871 – 27 February 1921) was a Yorkshire and England cricketer. He played for eighteen seasons for Yorkshire County Cricket Club, for England from the 1898/99 tour to 1912, and was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 19 ...

Tiger Smith Ernest James "Tiger" Smith (6 February 1886 – 31 August 1979) was an English wicket-keeper who played in 11 Tests from 1911/1912 to 1914. In county cricket, he had a much longer career as the successor to Dick Lilley: he played for Warwicks ...

Sydney Barnes Sydney Francis Barnes (19 April 1873 – 26 December 1967) was an English professional cricketer who is regarded as one of the greatest bowlers of all time. He was right-handed and bowled at a pace that varied from medium to fast-medium wit ...

Gilbert Jessop Gilbert Laird Jessop (19 May 1874 – 11 May 1955) was an English cricket player, often reckoned to have been the fastest run-scorer cricket has ever known. He was Wisden Cricketer of the Year for 1898. Career Jessop was born in Cheltenham, ...

* Harry Dean *

Ernie Hayes Ernest George Hayes (6 November 1876 – 2 December 1953) was an English first-class cricketer who played for Surrey, Leicestershire and England. Ernie Hayes was a right-handed batsman, usually batting at No 3 and strong at driving and pull ...

Bill Hitch John William Hitch (7 May 1886 – 7 July 1965) was a cricketer who played for Surrey and England. A Lancastrian, Hitch was bowling for a club in Cambridgeshire when he was spotted by Surrey's batsman Tom Hayward and recommended to The Oval. ...

Walter Brearley Walter Brearley (11 March 1876 – 30 January 1937) was an English first-class cricketer who played for Lancashire and England. Brearley was a fast bowler with what ''Wisden'' described as "a rolling gait" who put his full – and substantial ...

;Australia *

Syd Gregory Sydney Edward Gregory (14 April 1870 – 1 August 1929), sometimes known as Edward Sydney Gregory, was a cricketer who played for New South Wales and Australia. At the time of his retirement, he had played a world-record 58 Test matches duri ...

(captain) *

Warren Bardsley Warren "Curly" Bardsley (6 December 1882 – 20 January 1954) was an Australian Test cricketer. An opening batsman, Bardsley played 41 Tests between 1909 and 1926 and over 200 first-class games for New South Wales. He was Wisden's Cricketer of ...

Barlow Carkeek William "Barlow" Carkeek (17 October 1878 – 20 February 1937) was an Australian sportsman who played Test cricket for Australia and first-class cricket for Victoria, as well as playing Australian rules football in the Victorian Football ...

Sid Emery Sidney Hand Emery (15 October 1885 – 7 January 1967) was an Australian cricketer who played in four Tests in 1912. He played first-class cricket for New South Wales from 1908 to 1912. Life and career Sid Emery, nicknamed "Mad Mick" by his tea ...

* Gerry Hazlitt *

Claude Jennings Claude Barrows Jennings (5 June 1884 – 20 June 1950) was a cricketer who played for South Australia, Queensland and Australia.

* Charles Kelleway * John McLaren *

Charlie Macartney Charles George Macartney (27 June 1886 – 9 September 1958) was an Australian cricketer who played in 35 Test matches between 1907 and 1926. He was known as "The Governor-General" in reference to his authoritative batting style and his flamb ...

Jimmy Matthews Thomas James Matthews (3 April 1884 – 14 October 1943) was an Australian Test cricketer. Bowling leg breaks, he is the only player to have taken two hat-tricks in the same Test match. International cricket career "Possibly the best all-rou ...

Edgar Mayne Edgar Richard "Ernie" Mayne (2 July 1882 – 26 October 1961) was an Australian cricketer who played as a right-handed batsman and bowler. Mayne played in four Test matches for Australia between 1912 and 1921. He made his Test debut on 15 July ...

Roy Minnett Roy Baldwin Minnett (13 June 1886 – 21 October 1955) was an Australian cricketer who played in nine Test matches from December 1911 to August 1912. He became a medical practitioner. Life and career Minnett was born in Sydney and attended S ...

* David Smith * Harold Webster *

Bill Whitty William James Whitty (15 August 1886 – 30 January 1974) was an Australian cricketer who played 14 Test matches between 1909 and 1912. Early career Born in Sydney, Whitty had only played junior cricket before he was noticed by Test batsman V ...

;South Africa * Frank Mitchell (captain) * Louis Tancred (captain) * Rolland Beaumont * Tom Campbell *

Claude Carter Claude Pagdett Carter, sometimes known as Claude Paget Carter (23 April 1881 in Durban, Colony of Natal – 8 November 1952 in Durban, Natal) was a South African cricketer who played in 10 Tests from 1912 to 1924. Shortly after leaving the Durb ...

* Joe Cox *

Aubrey Faulkner George Aubrey Faulkner (17 December 1881 – 10 September 1930) was a South African cricketer who played 25 Test matches for South Africa and fought in both the Second Boer War and World War I. In cricket, he was an all-rounder who was among ...

* Gerald Hartigan * Charles Llewellyn * Dave Nourse * Sid Pegler *

Reggie Schwarz Major Reginald Oscar Schwarz (4 May 1875 – 18 November 1918), known as Reggie Schwarz, was a South African international cricketer and rugby union footballer. Early life Schwarz was born in Lee in London in 1875, the son of Robert George Sch ...

* Sibley Snooke *

Louis Stricker Louis Anthony Stricker (26 May 1884 – 5 February 1960) was a South African cricketer who played in 13 Tests from 1910 to 1912. Of German parentage, Stricker was born in Beaconsfield, Kimberley. A few years later his family moved to Johannesbur ...

Herbie Taylor Herbert Wilfred Taylor (5 May 1889 – 8 February 1973) was a South African cricketer who played 42 Test matches for his country including 18 as captain of the side. Specifically a batsman, he was an expert on the matting pitches which wer ...

* Tommy Ward * Gordon White

Notable incidents

Perhaps the most notable incident of the series was Australian bowler

taking two

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

s in the same Test match, one in each innings of the opening match against South Africa, the only time a bowler has taken two hat-tricks in the same Test.

Tests

First match: Australia v South Africa at Old Trafford, 27–28 May 1912

Report
* Australia batted first, completing their first innings score of 448 on the first day, with centuries for Charles Kelleway and

. Sid Pegler took 6

wicket In cricket, the term wicket has several meanings: * It is one of the two sets of three stumps and two bails at either end of the pitch. The fielding team's players can hit the wicket with the ball in a number of ways to get a batsman out. ...

s for 105 runs. South Africa were 16 for 1 at the close. * South Africa were bowled out for 265 on the second day (with a century for

, and

taking 5 wickets for 55 runs). They were within 30 runs of saving the follow on when

took a hat-trick to dismiss the last three batsmen. 183 runs behind, the South Africans were asked to bat again, and were bowled out again on the same day for 95 (Kelleway taking 5 for 33). Matthews took a second hat-trick in the second innings. * Australian bowler

took a double

, one in each of South Africa's innings, both hat-tricks being taken on the same day, 28 May 1912. Matthews took no other wickets in the match. * South Africa's debutant

wicket-keeper The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being watchful of the batsman and ready to take a catch, stump the batsman out and run out a batsman when occasion arises. ...

Tommy Ward was Matthews' 3rd victim in both innings. Ward's is the only known instance of a

king pair This is a general glossary of the terminology used in the sport of cricket. Where words in a sentence are also defined elsewhere in this article, they appear in italics. Certain aspects of cricket terminology are explained in more detail in cr ...

on debut in Test cricket.

Second match: England v South Africa at Lord's, 10–12 Jun 1912

Report
* For the first time in a Test match, extras top scored in an innings. * Heavy rain in the week before the match delayed the start on the first day until after 3pm, and then batting conditions were treacherous. South Africa were all out for 58 in their first innings within 90 minutes. Frank Foster and

bowled 26.1 overs unchanged, taking 5 wickets each. England's opening batsmen

and

found the conditions much easier to cope with, and England were 122 for 1 at the close. * On a sunny second day,

Reggie Spooner Reginald Herbert Spooner (21 October 1880 – 2 October 1961) was a cricketer who played for Lancashire and England. He also played Rugby Union for England. Biography The son of the Rev. G. H. Spooner, of Woolton, Spooner was educated at ...

scored 119, and

73, with Pegler taking 7 for 65. England were all out for 337, with a first innings lead of 279 runs. South Africa were 114 for 4 at the close. * South Africa were bowled out for 217 on the third day, with

Charlie Llewellyn Charles Bennett "Buck" Llewellyn (29 September 1876 – 7 June 1964) was the first non-white South African Test cricketer. He appeared in 15 Test matches for South Africa between 1895 and 1912, and played in English cricket as a professional for ...

scoring 75 and Barnes taking another 6 wickets.

Third match: England v Australia at Lord's, 24–26 Jun 1912

Report
* The match was ruined by the weather. Only about 3 hours were played on the first day due to two interruptions for rain. Play was not too difficult on the wet pitch to begin with, but became treacherous as the pitch dried. At the close, England were on 211/4. England added 30 runs in 20 minutes on the second day. * The third day was sunny, and England declared at 310 for 7 ( Hobbs 107). * In reply, Australia made 282 for 7 before rain ended play, playing defensively to avoid defeat.

scored 99 runs before being caught out, becoming only the third player in Test cricket to be dismissed one run short of a centur

Fourth match: England v South Africa at Headingley, 8–10 Jul 1912

Report
* England were bowled out for 242 in their first innings ( Frank Woolley, Woolley 57; Dave Nourse 4/52) before the end of the first day's play, and South Africa were 141/8 at the close. * South Africa were all out for 147 on the second day ( Pegler 35;

Barnes Barnes may refer to: People * Barnes (name), a family name and a given name (includes lists of people with that name) Places United Kingdom *Barnes, London, England **Barnes railway station ** Barnes Bridge railway station ** Barnes Railway Bri ...

6/52), and England added 238 in their second innings ( Spooner 82;

4/50). * Having set South Africa a target of 334 to win, they reached 105/7 at the close of the second day's play, and were bowled out again for 159 on the third day ( Louis Tancred 39,

4/63).

Fifth match: Australia v South Africa at Lord's, 15–17 Jul 1912

Report
* South Africa were bowled out for 263 on the first day (

93;

4/68), and Australia were 88/2 at the close. * Australia reached 390 all out on the second day, 127 runs ahead, with centuries for Kelleway and

(his 164 being the highest score in the tournament) and four wickets for Pegler. South Africa were 146/8 at the close. * After bowling South Africa out for 173 on the third day ( Llewellyn 59;

Matthews Matthews may refer to: People * Matthews (surname) Places * Matthews Island, Antarctica * Matthews Range, Kenya * Mount Matthews, New Zealand United States * Matthews, Georgia * Matthews, Indiana * Matthews, Maryland * Matthews, Missouri * Mat ...

4/29), setting a target of 47 to win.

Claude Jennings Claude Barrows Jennings (5 June 1884 – 20 June 1950) was a cricketer who played for South Australia, Queensland and Australia.

and debutant Ernie Mayne reached 48 runs for no loss within half an hour, to win the match.

Sixth match: England v Australia at Old Trafford, 29–31 Jul 1912

Report
* In a rain affected match, play started at nearly 3pm on the first day, and around 5pm on the second day. With less than 110 overs possible over three days, England reached 185/6 at the end of the first day, and were all out for 203 (

Wilf Rhodes Wilfred Rhodes (29 October 1877 – 8 July 1973) was an English professional cricketer who played 58 Test matches for England between 1899 and 1930. In Tests, Rhodes took 127 wickets and scored 2,325 runs, becoming the first Englishman ...

92; Gerry Hazlitt 4/77 and

4/43) on the second day. * Australia reached 14 for no loss before no further play was possible on the remainder of the second day or on the third day, and the match was drawn.

Seventh match: Australia v South Africa at Trent Bridge, 5–7 Aug 1912

Report
* Despite a sodden pitch, cloudy weather allowed South Africa to reach 266/8 at the end of the first day. They were dismissed for 329 (Nourse 64), and the second day closed with Australia all out for 219 (Bardsley 56, Pegler 4/80). No play was possible on the third day.

Eighth match: England v South Africa at The Oval, 12–13 Aug 1912

* In a low-scoring match, South Africa were bowled out for 95, with five wickets each for Barnes and Woolley. England reached 176 and then bowled South Africa out again for 93 (Barnes bowling unchanged to take 8/29), setting England a target of 13 runs to win.

and Young Jack Hearne took only 27 balls to score 14 for no loss before lunch on the second day, to win by 10 wickets.

Ninth match: England v Australia at The Oval, 19–22 Aug 1912

Report
* The tournament rules did not anticipate that two teams could complete their matches with the same number of wins and therefore contained no

tie-break In games and sports, a tiebreaker or tiebreak is used to determine a winner from among players or teams that are tied at the end of a contest, or a set of contests. General operation In matches In some situations, the tiebreaker may cons ...

ing conditions. Therefore, to ensure an overall winner, the match was played as a

timeless Test A timeless Test is a match of Test cricket played under no limitation of time, which means the match is played until one side wins or the match is tied, with theoretically no possibility of a draw. The format means that it is not possible to play ...

, with the 3-day time limit removed. Regardless, the match finished during the fourth day. * Despite heavy rain the day before the match, England reached 223/8 on the first day. There was only hours play on the second day due to rain, during which England were dismissed for 245, with half centuries for

and

and four wickets each for

and

. Australia were 51/2 when play was abandoned for the day. * Australia were dismissed for 111 on the third day, with five wickets each for Barnes and Woolley and only Kelleway and Bardsley reaching double figures. The last 7 wickets fell for 21 runs England lost two quick wickets after lunch but batting became easier after a further rain delay and England were 64/4 at the close, 198 runs ahead. * England were dismissed on the fourth day for 175 in their second innings, with

CB Fry Charles Burgess Fry (25 April 1872 – 7 September 1956) was an English sportsman, teacher, writer, editor and publisher, who is best remembered for his career as a cricketer. John Arlott described him with the words: "Charles Fry could b ...

scoring 79 and Gerry Hazlitt taking 7/25. Needing 310 to win the match and the tournament, Australia were dismissed for just 65, with again only two batsmen reaching double figures (opener

Claude Jennings Claude Barrows Jennings (5 June 1884 – 20 June 1950) was a cricketer who played for South Australia, Queensland and Australia.

and number 3

Charles Macartney Charles George Macartney (27 June 1886 – 9 September 1958) was an Australian cricketer who played in 35 Test matches between 1907 and 1926. He was known as "The Governor-General" in reference to his authoritative batting style and his flamb ...

), Woolley taking 5/20 and Harry Dean 4/19.

Results table

References

External links

CricketArchive re Australian tour

(from

Cricinfo ESPN cricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including liveblogs and scorecards), and ''StatsGuru'', a d ...

)
Report of the tournament from 334notout.com
{{International cricket tours of England Tri Tri Tri Tri English cricket seasons in the 20th century Tri International cricket competitions in England Tri 1912 Triangular Tournament Triangular Tournament Triangular Tournament Triangular Tournament Triangular Tournament

Background

Squad

Notable incidents

Tests

First match: Australia v South Africa at Old Trafford, 27–28 May 1912

Second match: England v South Africa at Lord's, 10–12 Jun 1912

Third match: England v Australia at Lord's, 24–26 Jun 1912

Fourth match: England v South Africa at Headingley, 8–10 Jul 1912

Fifth match: Australia v South Africa at Lord's, 15–17 Jul 1912

Sixth match: England v Australia at Old Trafford, 29–31 Jul 1912

Seventh match: Australia v South Africa at Trent Bridge, 5–7 Aug 1912

Eighth match: England v South Africa at The Oval, 12–13 Aug 1912

Ninth match: England v Australia at The Oval, 19–22 Aug 1912

Results table

See also

References

Further reading

External links