The inaugural South African cricket tour of England took place in the 1894 season. None of the 24 matches have first-class standing, although South Africa had already begun playing matches subsequently recognised as Test matches at home and many of the matches on tour were against first-class county clubs. The South Africans won 12 matches, drew 7 and lost 5.

The team

* H. H. Castens (captain) *

Godfrey Cripps Godfrey Cripps (19 October 1865 in Mussoorie, India – 27 July 1943 in Adelaide, Australia) was a cricketer who played in one Test for South Africa in 1891–92. Life and career Born in India and educated at Cheltenham College in England, Cripp ...

* Darnton Davey * George Glover *

Ernest Halliwell Ernest Austin "Barberton" Halliwell (7 September 1864 – 2 October 1919) was a first-class cricketer, who played eight Test matches for South Africa between 1892 and 1902, including three as captain. He played as a wicket-keeper, and was the f ...

Frank Hearne Frank Hearne (23 November 1858 – 14 July 1949) was an English born cricketer. One of the few men to play Test cricket for more than one country, he played for both England and South Africa. He was a member of the Hearne family of cricketers wh ...

Clement Johnson Clement Lecky Johnson (31 March 1871 – 31 May 1908) was an Irish cricketer who represented South Africa in a single Test match in 1896. Career Clement Johnson was born in Carbury, County Kildare, Ireland, on 31 March 1871. He was educated at ...

* George Kempis *

Bonnor Middleton James "Bonnor" Middleton (30 September 1865 – 23 December 1913) was a South African cricketer who played in six Test cricket, Tests from 1896 to 1902. On his debut, he took five wickets in the first innings against England in Port Elizabeth in ...

* Charles Mills * Dante Parkin *

Thomas Routledge Thomas William Routledge (18 April 1867 – 9 May 1927) was a cricketer who played Test cricket for South Africa in the 1890s. He was an attacking batsman and occasional bowler. Thomas Routledge was born in England, where he learned his crick ...

* George Rowe * Arthur Seccull * Cyril Sewell The manager was W. A. Simkins of

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

. Most of the leading players were available, except for

Bernard Tancred Augustus Bernard Tancred (20 August 1865 – 23 November 1911) was a 19th-century South African Test cricketer. His brothers, Vincent and Louis, also played Test cricket for South Africa. Early life Born in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, ...

and Alfred Richards, whose work prevented their participation. After the team was selected, Charles Mills replaced

Voltelin van der Bijl Voltelin Albert William van der Bijl (31 January 1872 – 2 October 1941) was a South African cricketer who played for Western Province in the 1890s. Voltelin van der Bijl was an all-rounder who batted in the middle order and opened the bowling ...

. The best-known player on the team was

, one of the few players to represent two countries in Test cricket. He played for

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 ...

in 1888-89 and for South Africa from 1891 to 1896. Six of the team – Cripps, Halliwell, Hearne, Mills, Parkin and Routledge – had played in South Africa's most recent

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

in 1892; Glover, Halliwell, Hearne, Johnson, Middleton, Routledge, Rowe and Seccull played Tests later in the 1890s. Only four – Castens, Davey, Kempis and Sewell – did not play Test cricket.

The tour

An important victory came against MCC at

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...

after weather had disrupted the early weeks of the tour. Rain prevented play on the first day of the two-day match, but on the second day 40 wickets fell, and the South Africans (126 and 60) defeated MCC (103 and 72) by 11 runs. Middleton took six wickets in each innings. Sewell was the leading scorer, with 1038 runs at an average of 30.52. He decided to stay in England and play for

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

. Rowe led the bowlers, with 136 wickets at 12.87; his opening partner Middleton took 83 wickets at 15.79."The South African team in England"
''Cricket'', 23 August 1894, pp. 349–50. After the tour, Simkins, the manager, declared that "from a cricket point of view" the tour was "a far greater success than the most sanguine of our team and supporters anticipated". However, financially it was "as complete a failure as it could be", and the tour's guarantors lost all their investment.
''Cricket'', 13 September 1894, pp. 388–89.

References

External links

at CricketArchive

Annual reviews

* ''James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual'' (Red Lilly), 1895 * ''Wisden Cricketers Almanack'' 1895 {{International cricket tours of England 1894 in English cricket 1894 in South African cricket International cricket competitions from 1888–89 to 1918 1894

The team

The tour

References

External links

Further reading

Annual reviews