The

England cricket team The England men's cricket team represents cricket in England, England and cricket in Wales, Wales in international cricket. Since 1997, it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by Maryleb ...

toured South Africa from 8 November 1938 to 14 March 1939, playing five Test matches against the South Africa national team and (as the

Marylebone Cricket Club The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's, Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London, England. The club was the governing body of cricket from 1788 to 1989 and retain ...

) 13 tour matches against various provincial sides. England won the third Test by an innings and 13 runs, but the other four Tests finished as draws, including the final

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 ...

, which was played over the course of 10 days (not including two rest days). The final Test was declared a draw, as the England team had to leave to ensure they caught the boat home from

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

Test series

1st Test

The South African innings of 390 featured an unbalanced scorecard - there were five half-centuries, a single-figure score and five players failed to score.

2nd Test

3rd Test

4th Test

5th Test

Tour matches

*8–9 November ( The Strand):

(589/8d) vs Western Province County District (140 & 107)
MCC won by an innings and 342 runs
*12–15 November (

Newlands Newlands may refer to: Places Australia * Newlands, Queensland, a locality in the Whitsunday Region * Newlands, Western Australia, a town in the Shire of Donnybrook–Balingup Ireland * Newlands Cross, Dublin, named after the former Newlands ...

Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: *Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guinea) *Western Province (Solomon Islands) *Western Province, Sri Lanka *Western Provinc ...

(174 & 169) vs Marylebone Cricket Club (276 & 69/2)
MCC won by 8 wickets
*19–22 November (Athletic Club Ground,

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia Queensland * Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas South Australia * County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia Ta ...

): Marylebone Cricket Club (676) vs

Griqualand West Griqualand West is an area of central South Africa with an area of 40,000 km2 that now forms part of the Northern Cape Province. It was inhabited by the Griqua people – a semi-nomadic, Afrikaans-speaking nation of mixed-race origin, w ...

(114 & 273)
MCC won by an innings and 289 runs
*26–28 November ( Ramblers Cricket Club Ground,

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongsi ...

Orange Free State The Orange Free State ( ; ) was an independent Boer-ruled sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeated and surrendered to the British Em ...

(128 & 260) vs Marylebone Cricket Club (412/6d)
MCC won by an innings and 24 runs
*3–6 December ( Kingsmead,

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

(307 & 30/0) vs Marylebone Cricket Club (458)
Match drawn
*10–13 December ( Berea Park,

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

): North Eastern Transvaal (161 & 142) vs Marylebone Cricket Club (379/6d)
MCC won by an innings and 76 runs
*16–19 December (

Old Wanderers Old Wanderers was a cricket ground in Johannesburg, South Africa. The ground hosted 22 Test matches from 1895 to 1939, before being rebuilt as Johannesburg's Park Station in 1946. It has since been replaced by the New Wanderers Stadium. Hi ...

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name ''Transvaal''. * South African Republic (1856–1902; ...

(428/8d & 174/2) vs Marylebone Cricket Club (268)
Match drawn
*7–9 January ( St George's Oval,

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipal ...

): Eastern Province (172 & 111) vs Marylebone Cricket Club (518/6d)
MCC won by an innings and 235 runs
*13–16 January ( Jan Smuts Ground,

East London East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...

Border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...

(121 & 275) vs Marylebone Cricket Club (320 & 79/1)
MCC won by 9 wickets
*27–30 January (Old Wanderers, Johannesburg): Combined Transvaal/Northern Transvaal XI (304 & 220/2) vs Marylebone Cricket Club (434)

*4–7 February (

Queens Sports Club Queens Sports Club Ground is a stadium in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. It is used primarily used for cricket matches. The stadium has a capacity of up to 13,000. The stadium is the home ground for the Matabeleland Tuskers, who are the current Logan ...

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; ) is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council claimed it to be about ...

): Marylebone Cricket Club (307/5d) vs

Rhodesia Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...

(242)
Match drawn
*10–13 February ( Salisbury Sports Club,

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

): Marylebone Cricket Club (180 & 174/2d) vs Rhodesia (96 & 95/6)
Match drawn
*25–28 February (

City Oval City Oval (formerly Alexandra Park and sometimes called the Pietermaritzburg Oval), is a multi-purpose stadium in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. The 12,000 capacity stadium is currently used predominantly for cricket matches, with the ground b ...

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; ) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa after Durban. It was named in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. The town was named in Zulu after King ...

): Natal (295 & 219) vs Marylebone Cricket Club (407 & 110/1)
MCC won by 9 wickets

References

External links

Tour home
at ESPNcricinfo

at Test Cricket Tours