The New Zealand national cricket team toured

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

from October 1953 to February 1954 and played a five match Test series against the

South Africa national cricket team The South Africa national cricket team, also known as the Proteas, represents South Africa in men's international cricket and is administered by Cricket South Africa (CSA). South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council ...

. South Africa won the Test series 4–0. The tour was the first by a representative New Zealand side to South Africa and the tourists embarked on their visit without having won a Test match since they had been granted full member status of the

Imperial Cricket Conference The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are 108 national associations, with 12 Full Members and 96 Associate Members. Founded in 1909 as the '' ...

in 1930.New Zealanders in South Africa, 1953–54
''

Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...

'', 1955, pp. 786–811. Retrieved 2021-08-08.Williamson M (2008
Beyond the call of duty
CricInfo, 2008-12-06. Retrieved 2021-08-08. South Africa were captained by Jack Cheetham and New Zealand by

Geoff Rabone Geoffrey Osborne Rabone (6 November 1921 – 19 January 2006), known as Geoff Rabone, was a cricketer who captained New Zealand in five Test matches in 1953–54 and 1954–55. Domestic career Geoff Rabone played for Wellington from 1940– ...

Tour party

The New Zealand team was captained by

with

Bert Sutcliffe Bert Sutcliffe (17 November 1923 – 20 April 2001) was a New Zealand Test cricketer. Sutcliffe was a successful left-hand batsman. His batting achievements on tour in England in 1949, which included four fifties and a century in the Tests, e ...

as vice-captain. Rabone had been reluctant to tour but was chosen as captan ahead of

Merv Wallace Walter Mervyn Wallace (19 December 1916 – 21 March 2008) was a New Zealand cricketer and former Test match captain. Former New Zealand captain John Reid called him "the most under-rated cricketer to have worn the silver fern." He was nick ...

, who had captained New Zealand when South Africa had toured in 1952–53. Despite having retired from Test cricket in 1951, the experienced

Walter Hadlee Walter Arnold Hadlee (4 June 1915 – 29 September 2006) was a New Zealand cricketer and Test match captain. He played domestic first-class cricket for Canterbury and Otago. Three of his five sons, Sir Richard, Dayle and Barry played crick ...

was asked to captain the side but declined and Rabone agreed to lead the tour.New Zealand to South Africa 1953–54
Test Cricket Tours (archived June 2020). Retrieved 2021-08-11. Wallace chose not to join the tour after Rabone was appointed. Sutcliffe, who was New Zealand's outstanding post-war batsman,
Obituary, ''

'', 2002. Retrieved 2020-12-03. captained the New Zealanders during the fourth and fifth Test matches after Rabone broke a bone in his foot. The average age of the team was 25. With the aim of establishing a high standard of fielding, some older or slower players were overlooked, including the spinners

Tom Burtt Thomas Browning Burtt (22 January 1915 – 24 May 1988) was a New Zealand cricketer who played in ten Tests from 1947 to 1953. Domestic career In his last first-class match, for Canterbury against the MCC in 1954–55, he hit 24 off one over ...

and

Alex Moir Alexander McKenzie Moir (17 July 1919 – 17 June 2000) was a New Zealand cricketer. He played 17 Test matches for New Zealand in the 1950s as a leg-spinner and lower-order batsman. Early life Moir served in Europe with New Zealand forces in ...

, and the opening batsman Gordon Leggat. Neely D, Payne R (1986) ''Men in White: The History of New Zealand International Cricket, 1894–1985'', p. 216. Auckland: Moa. Leggat later joined the team for the Australian leg of the tour, replacing the injured Rabone. *

(captain) *

(vice-captain) * John Beck * Bill Bell * Bob Blair *

Murray Chapple Murray Ernest Chapple (25 July 1930 – 31 July 1985) was a New Zealand cricketer who played 14 Test matches over 13 years. However, he was largely unsuccessful, with only three fifties and a highest score of 76. Playing career In a first-clas ...

* Eric Dempster *

Ian Leggat Ian Bruce Leggat (born 7 June 1930) is a former New Zealand cricketer who played in one Test match in 1954. His cousin, Gordon Leggat, also played Test cricket for New Zealand. Early life Leggat was born in Invercargill, New Zealand. He atte ...

Tony MacGibbon Anthony Roy MacGibbon (28 August 1924 – 6 April 2010) was a cricketer who played 26 Tests for New Zealand in the 1950s. MacGibbon was a useful lower-order right-hand batsman and a right-arm fast-medium bowler who led the attack for his count ...

Lawrie Miller Lawrence Somerville Martin Miller (31 March 1923 – 17 December 1996) was a cricketer who played 13 matches of Test cricket for New Zealand between 1953 and 1958, and played Plunket Shield cricket for Central Districts and Wellington. Cricket ...

Frank Mooney Francis Leonard Hugh Mooney (26 May 1921 – 8 March 2004) was a New Zealand cricketer who played in 14 Test matches as a wicket-keeper between 1949 and 1954. He played for Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the cap ...

* Guy Overton *

Matt Poore Matt Beresford Poore (1 June 1930 – 11 June 2020) was a New Zealand cricketer who played 14 Test matches for New Zealand in the 1950s. He was born in Christchurch. Domestic career A right-handed middle order batsman and handy off-spin bowler ...

* John Reid The manager was the former Test batsman Jack Kerr. The four players who had not yet played Test cricket – Beck, Bell, Ian Leggat and Overton – all played their first Tests on the tour.

Tour itinerary

The tour took place between October 1953 and March 1954, with the New Zealanders in South Africa until mid-February. Three first-class matches were played in Australia during March on the return leg of the tour, and the touring team played a match against a New Zealand XI on their return to their home country. The team left New Zealand on the Arawa on 1 October, arriving in

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 ...

on 28 October after visiting

Port Melbourne Port Melbourne is an inner-city List of Melbourne suburbs, suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the Cities of ...

and Fremantle in Australia. A total of 17 matches were played in South Africa during the tour, 16 of which were first-class. Seven matches were played before the first Test match, including one in Rhodesia. A single match took place between the first and second Tests and three further first-class matches were played between the third and fourth Tests; Rabone was injured during the final first-class match against

Border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...

, immediately before the fourth Test was played.New Zealand in Australia and South Africa 1953/54
CricketArchive. Retrieved 2021-08-12.

Test series

All of the Test matches during the tour were four-day matches and used 8-ball overs. South Africa won four of the matches, although the New Zealanders were in strong positions in two of these matches. The third Test was a draw.

First Test

The first Test match of the series was played at

Kingsmead Cricket Ground Kingsmead is a cricket ground in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Its stated capacity is 25,000, although grass terracing makes up part of the viewing area. The 'end names' are the Umgeni End (north) and the Old Fort Road End (south). It is t ...

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

, beginning on 11 December 1953. South Africa's

Neil Adcock Neil Amwin Treharne Adcock (8 March 1931 – 6 January 2013) was a South African international cricketer who played in 26 Test matches. A tall aggressive fast bowler, he could lift the ball sharply off a length. He was the first South Afri ...

and New Zealand's Guy Overton made their Test match debuts during the match. South Africa gained a "great advantage" by winning the toss and chose to bat on a wicket which ''

Wisden ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...

'' said "became more difficult as the match progressed".First Test
South Africa v New Zealand 1953–54], ''

'', 1955. Retrieved 2021-08-12. They scored 437 runs before Declaration and forfeiture, declaring their innings complete after 115 overs. An opening century-partnership between Jackie McGlew and

John Waite John Charles Waite (born 4 July 1952) is an English musician. As a solo artist, he has released ten studio albums and is best known for the 1984 hit single " Missing You", which reached No. 1 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the top ten on ...

provided a foundation for the innings, with

Roy McLean Roy Alastair McLean (9 July 1930 – 26 August 2007) was a South African cricketer who played in 40 Test matches between 1951 and 1964. A stroke-playing middle-order batsman, he scored over 2,000 Test runs, but made 11 ducks in 73 Test innings. ...

and Ken Funston also adding 135 for the fourth wicket, McLean top-scoring with an innings of 101. In reply, New Zealand finished the second day's play on 70 for the loss of 2 wickets (70/2) with captain

unbeaten on 40 runs. After a rest day on 13 December, Rabone completed his first century in Test cricket, scoring 107 in an innings which lasted over six hours, but New Zealand were all out for 230, and were asked to

follow on In the game of cricket, a team who batted second and scored significantly fewer runs than the team who batted first may be forced to follow-on: to take their second innings immediately after their first. The follow-on can be enforced by the team ...

. Off spin bowler

Hugh Tayfield Hugh Joseph Tayfield (30 January 1929 – 24 February 1994) was a South African international cricketer. He played 37 Test matches for South Africa between 1949 and 1960 and was one of the best off spinners the game has seen. He was the faste ...

took six wickets for the cost of 62 runs (6/62) from his 36 overs, and ''Wisden'' reported that both he and leg spinner Clive van Ryneveld, who took three wickets, turned the ball "sharply" and "bowled with sustained accurately". After losing two quick wickets at the end of the third day's play, they were all out for 149, losing the match by an innings and 58 runs. Rabone, who "again resisted strongly", top-scored with 60 in New Zealand's second innings and batted for 9¾ hours of the 11¼ that New Zealand batted for.

Second Test

The second test was famous for New Zealand player Bob Blair receiving news that his fiancée, Nerissa Love, had been killed in the Tangiwai railway disaster on Christmas Eve. Blair was not expected to bat when his turn came on Boxing Day, as an announcement had been made that he would take no further part in the game. In the event, however, he appeared at the crease at the fall of the ninth wicket to join

, who had already started to walk off the field. The packed crowd stood in silence. The two men added 33 for the last wicket and avoided a follow on, with Sutcliffe striking three sixes and Blair one from a single eight-ball over, but in the next over Blair was stumped off

Tour party

Tour itinerary

Test series

First Test

Second Test

Third Test

Fourth Test

Fifth Test

Notes

References

Further reading