The

New Zealand national cricket team The New Zealand national cricket team represents New Zealand in men's international cricket. Nicknamed the Black Caps (), they played their first Test cricket, Test in 1930 against England cricket team, England in Christchurch, becoming the f ...

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

South Africa national cricket team The South Africa men's national cricket team, also known as the Proteas, represents South Africa in men's international cricket and is administered by Cricket South Africa. South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council. T ...

. 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 global governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from Australia, England, and South Africa. In 1965, the body was renamed as the Intern ...

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" (or variations thereof) has been applied to ''Wi ...

'', 1955, pp. 786–811. Retrieved 2021-08-08.Williamson M (2008
Beyond the call of duty

CricInfo ESPNcricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a Sports journalism, sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including Liveblogging, liveblogs and sco ...

, 2008-12-06. Retrieved 2021-08-08.Boock R (2006
Cricket: Tours of the unexpected
''

New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation in New Zealand ...

'', 6 April 2006. Retrieved 2024-06-21. South Africa were captained by Jack Cheetham and New Zealand by Geoff Rabone.

Tour party

The New Zealand team was captained by Geoff Rabone 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 captain ahead of Merv Wallace, 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 cricke ...

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 and Alex Moir, 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. * Geoff Rabone (captain) *

(vice-captain) * John Beck * Bill Bell * Bob Blair * Murray Chapple * Eric Dempster *

Ian Leggat Ian Bruce Leggat (born 7 June 1930) is a New Zealand former cricketer who played in one Test match in 1954. He was a middle-order batsman, a medium-pace bowler, and a slips fieldsman. His cousin, Gordon Leggat, also played Test cricket for Ne ...

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 countr ...

* Lawrie Miller * Frank Mooney * 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. Beck, who was aged 19, had not played a first-class match before the start of the tour. He was selected for the tour "on the basis of his schoolboy form and his raw promise" and made his first-class debut in the second match of the tour. His Test debut came in the second Test after he had played only five first-class matches.

Tour itinerary

The tour took place between October 1953 and March 1954, with the New Zealanders in South Africa until mid-February. The team left New Zealand on the ''Arawa'' on 1 October, arriving in

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 ...

on 28 October after visiting

Port Melbourne Port Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of the Melbourne central business district, located within the Cities of City of Melbourne, Melbourne and City of Port Phillip, Port Phillip Local government ...

and

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

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 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 ...

. 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 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 ...

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

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 five Test 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 field, 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 ...

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 ...

, 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 Afric ...

and New Zealand's Guy Overton made their Test match debuts. 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" (or variations thereof) has been applied to ''Wi ...

'' 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 declaring their innings complete after 115 overs. An opening century-partnership between

Jackie McGlew Derrick John "Jackie" McGlew (11 March 1929 − 8 June 1998) was a cricketer who played for Natal and South Africa. He was educated at Merchiston Preparatory School and Maritzburg College, where he was Head Dayboy Prefect and captain of both cr ...

and

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

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 Geoff Rabone 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 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 who batted f ...

. 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, New Zealand were all out for 149 in their second innings, 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 is notable for New Zealander Bob Blair receiving news that his fiancée, Nerissa Love, had been killed in the Tangiwai railway disaster on

Boxing Day Boxing Day, also called as Offering Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Boxing Day was once a day to donate gifts to those in need, but it has evolved to become a part ...

morning.The Tangiwai cricket test, Boxing Day 1953
New Zealand History, Manatū Taonga. Retrieved 2024-06-21. Blair initially withdrew from the match and an announcement had been made that he would take no further part in the game. In the event, however, he travelled to the ground after having heard on the radio commentary of the match that New Zealand were in danger of having to follow on in their first innings. He came in to bat at the fall of the ninth wicket to join

, who had already started to walk off the field having not known that Blair was at the ground. The packed crowd stood in silence. The pair added 33 runs for the last wicket in 10 minutes, with Sutcliffe hitting

for three sixes and Blair hitting one in a single eight-ball over. In Tayfield's next over Blair was stumped, leaving New Zealand almost 100 runs behind after the first innings. After bowling South Africa out for 148 they needed 212 runs to win the match and were 75/3 on the last morning of the match before a batting collapse―the last seven wickets were lost for just 25 more runs― meant that South Africa won the match by 132 runs.Second Test
South Africa v New Zealand 1953–54, ''

'', 1955. Retrieved 2021-08-12.Scorecard
2nd Test, Johannesburg, Dec 24 - 29 1953, New Zealand tour of South Africa,

. Retrieved 2024-06-20.

Third Test

The third Test was played at

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 ...

starting on

New Year's Day In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian calendars, begin the year regularly at or near the December solstice, northern winter ...

. South African Dick Westcott and New Zealanders Bill Bell and

made their Test debuts.Third Test
South Africa v New Zealand 1953–54, ''

'', 1955. Retrieved 2024-06-20. Bob Blair did not play in the match, although he remained in South Africa due to the time it would have taken to return to New Zealand meaning it was impossible to return home for his fiancée's funeral. The match was New Zealand's best performance of the tour. After winning the toss and choosing to bat on a pitch that ''Wisden'' described as "favourable to batsmen" throughout the match, they scored 505 runs in their first innings, setting a new record for the highest Test match score by a New Zealand side. John Reid scored 135 and was part of a partnership of 174 runs for the fifth wicket with John Beck, setting a new record partnership for New Zealand against South Africa. The pair batted aggressively on the second day, Reid hitting 20 boundaries. Beck was

run out Run out is a method of dismissal in cricket, in which the fielding team put down the wicket of a batter who is outside their ground, usually because they are trying to score a run. Run out is governed by Law 38 of the laws of cricket. If ...

for 99 runs, his highest score in Test cricket. In reply, South Africa scored 326 runs, including a ninth wicket stand of 95 between Jack Cheetham and Hugh Tayfield. An innings of over four hours from Jackie McGlew, who scored 86 runs, had, however, taken time out of the game. They were asked to follow on, but were able to bat out the remaining time to force a draw, scoring 159/3.Scorecard
3rd Test, Cape Town, Jan 1 - 5 1954, New Zealand tour of South Africa,

. Retrieved 2024-06-20.

Fourth Test

Geoff Rabone broke his foot in the lead up to the fourth Test and was unable to play again on the tour. He was replaced as captain by Bert Sutcliffe who won the toss and put South Africa in to bat.Fourth Test
South Africa v New Zealand 1953–54, ''

'', 1955. Retrieved 2024-06-21. The match was one-sided, with South Africa winning a "surprisingly comfortable victory" and securing their first home series win against any opposition since 1930. A damp pitch should have favoured New Zealand's bowlers, but the South African opening pair of McGlew and Westcott added 104 for the first wicket. A batting collapse followed, with Guy Overton taking three wickets for just one run in 13 balls to reduce the South Africans to 139/6 at one point. Cheetham and Waite, batting down the order with Westcott promoted to open the batting, added important runs, Waite scoring a half-century batting at number eight, and the side made a total of 243 runs.Scorecard
4th Test, Johannesburg, Jan 29 - Feb 2 1954, New Zealand tour of South Africa,

. Retrieved 2024-06-21. The New Zealanders came in to bat on day two and were bowled out for 79. Tayfield took six wickets, including five in a spell of 32 balls without conceding a run, and only three batsmen reached double figures, with five, including Sutcliffe and Reid, recording

ducks Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...

. ''Wisden'' reported that the pitch was not particularly favourable to spin bowling but that "much of the batting was extremely poor". They were asked to follow on, and a combination of rain and bad light meant that they survived into the fourth day despite a hostile opening bowling spell by Neil Adcock. South Africa quickly made the 25runs they needed for victory, winning by nine wickets.

Fifth Test

New Zealand won the toss for the third match in succession at St George's Park in

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 ...

, but, after closing to bat, were unable to take advantage of a slow pitch which favoured the batsmen. They scored 226, according to ''Wisden'' " hrowingaway a good opportunity of at last winning a Test Match".Fifth Test
South Africa v New Zealand 1953–54, ''

'', 1955. Retrieved 2024-06-21. A combination of batting which "lacked enterprise" and effective bowling and fielding by South Africa limited the New Zealand score, and, after bowling South Africa out for 237, they were unable to score enough runs to put pressure on South Africa, despite half-centuries from Reid and Sutcliffe.Scorecard
5th Test, Gqeberha, Feb 5 - 9 1954, New Zealand tour of South Africa,

. Retrieved 2024-06-21. After bowling New Zealand out in their second innings for 222, South Africa had under four hours to score 212 runs to win the match. They did so in just over three hours, with Russell Endean and John Watkins both receiving praise from ''Wisden'' for "hitting freely" as they won the match by five wickets.