The England national cricket team toured South Africa in the 1948-49 season. The tour was organised by the

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

and the side played five Test matches as

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 16 other first-class matches as "MCC". Two of the first-class matches took place in

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

(now

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

). There were also two non-first-class matches. England won the first and last Test matches; the other three were drawn. Though the margin of victory in both the England wins was small, ''Wisden'' was in no doubt that the better team had won: "Much less than justice would have been done if England had not won the rubber," it said. "In all five Tests clearly they were the superior team".

England team

The MCC team was captained by George Mann, with

Billy Griffith Stewart Cathie Griffith, (16 June 1914 – 7 April 1993), known as Billy Griffith, was an English cricketer and cricket administrator. He played in three Test matches for England in 1948 and 1949. He played first-class cricket for Cambridge ...

as vice-captain. The

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

secretary Brigadier Michael Green was the tour manager. The full team was: :George Mann; Billy Griffith (wicketkeeper);

Alec Bedser Sir Alec Victor Bedser (4 July 1918 – 4 April 2010) was a professional English cricketer, primarily a medium-fast bowler. He is widely regarded as one of the best English cricketers of the 20th century. Bedser played first-class cricket fo ...

;

Denis Compton Denis Charles Scott Compton (23 May 1918 – 23 April 1997) was an English multi-sportsman. As a cricketer he played in 78 Test matches and spent his whole cricket career with Middlesex. As a footballer, he played as a winger and spent most o ...

;

Jack Crapp John Frederick Crapp (14 October 1912 – 13 February 1981), was an English cricketer, who played first-class cricket for Gloucestershire between 1936 and 1956, and played for England on tour in the winter of 1948–49. Cricket writer, ...

;

Godfrey Evans Thomas Godfrey Evans (18 August 1920 – 3 May 1999) was an English cricketer who played for Kent and England. Described by ''Wisden'' as 'arguably the best wicket-keeper the game has ever seen', Evans collected 219 dismissals in 91 Test match ...

(wicketkeeper);

Cliff Gladwin Clifford Gladwin (3 April 1916 – 10 April 1988) was an English first-class cricketer who played for Derbyshire from 1939 to 1958 and in eight Tests for England from 1947 to 1949. He took over 1,600 first-class wickets. A tall right-arm mediu ...

;

Len Hutton Sir Leonard Hutton (23 June 1916 – 6 September 1990) was an English cricketer. He played as an opening batsman for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1934 to 1955 and for England in 79 Test matches between 1937 and 1955. ''Wisden Cricketer ...

;

Roly Jenkins Roly Jenkins (24 November 1918 – 22 July 1995) was an English cricketer, almost exclusively for Worcestershire County Cricket Club as a leg spinner in the period immediately after World War II. Along with Doug Wright and Eric Hollies, Jenk ...

;

Charles Palmer Charles Palmer may refer to: * Charles Palmer (1777–1851), Member of Parliament for Bath * Sir Charles Palmer, 1st Baronet (1822–1907), English shipbuilder, businessman and Liberal Member of Parliament, 1874–1907 * Sir Charles Palmer, 2nd Ba ...

;

Reg Simpson Reginald Thomas Simpson (27 February 1920 – 22 November 2013) was an English cricketer, who played in 27 Test matches from 1948 to 1955. Life and career Born in Sherwood, Nottingham, England, Simpson attended Nottingham High School. At th ...

; Maurice Tremlett;

Cyril Washbrook Cyril Washbrook (6 December 1914 – 27 April 1999) was an English cricketer, who played for Lancashire and England. He had a long career, split by World War II, and ending when he was aged 44. Washbrook, who is most famous for opening the bat ...

;

Allan Watkins Albert John "Allan" Watkins (21 April 1922 – 3 August 2011) was a Welsh cricketer, who played for England in fifteen Tests from 1948 to 1952. Life and career Born in Usk, Monmouthshire, Allan Watkins made his debut for Glamorgan just three ...

;

Doug Wright Douglas Wright (born December 20, 1962) is an American playwright, librettist, and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2004 for his play ''I Am My Own Wife''. Early years Wright was born in Dallas, Texas. He attended and ...

; Jack Young

Test series summary

First Test

Second Test

Third Test

Fourth Test

Fifth Test

References

External links

* 1948 in English cricket 1949 in English cricket 1948 in South African cricket 1949 in South African cricket International cricket competitions from 1945–46 to 1960 1948-49 South African cricket seasons from 1945–46 to 1969–70 {{SouthAfrica-cricket-tour-stub