Australia’s spin position for the first Test on Thursday is one of the most serious issues for team management, but Stuart MacGill took a light-hearted view of his spot on the opening day of squad training. MacGill was thrashed by Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds during a Pura Cup match last week and when the performance was combined with concerns over his fitness the selectors added Brad Hogg to the 13-man outfit.Hogg and MacGill, who is recovering from minor knee surgery, went head-to-head in a centre-wicket practice at Allan Border Field before MacGill was a guest speaker at a corporate function. “I didn’t do myself any favours last week playing Queensland,” he said. “Haydos and Symmo were batting and I threw up a few pies – I thought it was part of the team love thing – and they belted me. So the selectors didn’t like that too much and now I’m in a bowl-off.”An Australian 13-man squad is usually trimmed by one two days before the match and it is likely one of the spinners will be sent back to their state for the round of first-class matches. While Ricky Ponting may consider four fast bowlers for the receptive Gabba surface, MacGill is the favourite to win selection and gain the chance to replace Shane Warne.”I’m not ready to finish yet, whether it’s for Australia or New South Wales,” MacGill said. “I can’t wait to get into the swing of things because it feels like it’s been stop-start. And if it’s not Warney in front of me it’s someone else popping their head up, like Hoggy has this week.”

Bengal 370 and 86 (Pathan 5-36, Pawar 4-23) lost to Baroda 515 (Solanki 186, Yusuf 183) by an innings and 59 runs
Scorecard
After his super quick 186 on the third day, Yusuf Pathan teamed up with left-arm spinner Rajesh Pawar to run through the Bengal second innings to take Baroda to an innings win in their first match of the season. The two spinners had taken the new ball on the third day and Pathan had struck in his first over itself.On the fourth today, they continued in the same vein as they reduced Bengal to 13 for 5 in 13 overs. A sixth-wicket partnership of 36 runs between Wriddhiman Saha and Rana Chowdhary provided some resistance, but the spinners struck again to skittle Bengal out for 86. The spinners bowled accurately as the four lbw and two bowled dismissals show.Delhi 244 and 295 for 2 dec. drew with Saurashtra 213 and 254 for 9 (Pujara 148*, Sangwan 4-70)
Scorecard
Cheteshwar Pujara got invaluable support from Sandeep Jobanutra and Sandip Maniar, the Nos. 10 and 11, as Saurashtra hung on for a miraculous draw against Delhi. After Delhi declared overnight, setting Saurashtra a target of 327 runs, Saurahstra lost their first eight wickets for 106 runs.That’s when Jobanputra joined Pujara and they made Delhi wait for 157 minutes and 35.5 overs to get their next wicket. Jobanputra scored a patient 35 in a partnership of 119 and left Pujara and Maniar another 16.2 overs to negotiate.Maniar hung in for 5 off 32 balls as bad light made Saurashtra’s task easier – play was called off with five overs to go. Pujara stayed unbeaten on 148 and was responsible for the one point that Saurashtra gained from the match.

Uttar Pradesh 298 and 297 for 6 dec. (Kaif 122*, Shankara Rao 4-72) drew with Andhra 326 and 213 for 4 (Reddy 103*, Varma 89)
Scorecard
LNP Reddy and ASK Varma punished the Uttar Pradesh bowlers for the second time in the match, but they did not get enough time to get the target of 270 runs in a minimum of 48 overs. After UP had fallen behind in the first innings, their captain Mohammad Kaif scored a brisk unbeaten century to give themselves another chance in the game. UP got off to a good start, as Sudeep Tyagi got Hemal Watekar in the first over.After that, however, Reddy and Varma took the attack to the bowlers and it was UP who were looking to hang on for a draw and not vice-versa. Reddy got his second century of the match with a boundary off the last ball of the day. Varma had to stay content with a second half-century as he got out for 89 in the penultimate over. Tyagi was on a hat-trick in the last over, but Gnaneshwara Rao first denied him and then took a single to get Reddy on the strike for the last ball.Hyderabad 379 and 276 (Ravi Teja 111, Ladda 4-30) drew with Punjab 356 and 75 for 4 (Yadav 3-32)
Scorecard
Hyderabad, after they secured a first-innings lead on the third day, chose to play safe as they set Punjab a target of 300 runs in 33 overs and even though Punjab lost four wickets the result was always going to be a draw.Ravi Teja followed up the 55 in the first innings with a century in the second; when he got out in the 53rd over, he had scored 111 out of Hyderabad’s 160 then.Considering how quickly Punjab lost four wickets (in 28 overs), a competitive target set by Hyderabad would have made the end of the match interesting.

Ireland have announced their 15-man squad for the Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia in February.Greg Thompson leads the side in his third World Cup, following the tournaments in Bangladesh in 2004, and Sri Lanka in 2006. Three others have experience from 2006 – James Hall, Richard Keaveney and Gavin McKenna – while of the rest, seven are under 17.Ireland have been drawn in Group D, along with England, Bangladesh and Bermuda and they will be based in Kuala Lumpur. Ireland open their campaign against England on February 17. The last time these sides met in this competition, England won by four runs.The team will have at least two warm-up games prior to the start of the tournament, against Namibia and Nepal.Irish coach Brian O’ Rourke is happy with his squad. “The players have been working hard in training, and are eagerly awaiting the start of the World Cup,” he said. “We have a very strong batting line up, with Stirling and Dougherty being particularly impressive over the past few seasons. Ben Ackland has been over at Northants, while Graham Mc Donnell, Andrew Balbirnie, James Hall, James Shannon and Shane Getkate are all very talented players.”We have plenty of options in the bowling department, and the squad is full of allrounders. We are particularly strong in the spin department, which I feel will be crucial, given the type of pitches we are likely to encounter in Malaysia.””With both England and Bangladesh in our group, the standard of cricket we are likely to face is very high, but it will be the experience of a lifetime for the boys.”Squad Greg Thompson (capt), Ben Ackland, Balbirnie, Andrew Britton, Christopher Dougherty, Shane Getkate, James Hall, Richard Keaveney, Theo Lawson, Graham McDonnell, Gavin McKenna, Lee Nelson, Stuart Poynter (wk), James Shannon, Paul Stirling.

Delhi 290 (Chopra 102, Bhatia 139, Praveen Kumar 8-68)and 230 for 1 (Gambhir 130*, Dhawan 54*) beat Uttar Pradesh 342 (Tanmay Srivastava 105, Shukla 96, Sangwan 4-80, Narwal 4-81) and 177 (Raina 85, Sangwan 5-46) by nine wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

At 3.03pm, shortly after tea on the fourth day, Delhi’s 16-year wait for the Ranji Trophy ended. Pradeep Sangwan produced a superb spell of seam bowling to bowl out Uttar Pradesh for 177 before their captain, Gautam Gambhir, cracked an unbeaten 130 to lead Delhi’s march to a seventh Ranji title.That march, which began with defiant centuries from Aakash Chopra and Rajat Bhatia in the first innings, quickened this morning when UP lost four wickets for just 23 runs as Sangwan produced a spell of 5-3-5-3.As Gambhir and Shikhar Dhawan stole the winning single, the entire Delhi squad rushed to the ground, stumps were uprooted for souvenirs, and the players danced in a huddle of joy.The platform was laid by Sangwan early in the morning. Sangwan struck in his first over, bending the ball back in to castle Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He then cleaned up Praveen Kumar with a peach of a yorker before pushing one across Amir Khan to take the edge. Manoj Prabhakar, Delhi’s bowling consultant, had been working on getting Sangwan’s wrist position right so that he could seam the ball in and that paid off today with Sangwan producing his best first-class figures to date.Without too many runs to play with, UP had to strike with the new ball and for that Praveen Kumar had to repeat his first-innings heroics. However, the Delhi openers played him out with caution – his first nine overs went for 23 – while turning the heat on the others.Gambhir started off like a runaway train, slamming Sudeep Tyagi for three fours in his first over before settling down. Yesterday, Praveen Kumar had bemoaned the lack of support from the other end and he got little of it today too. Tyagi, who picked up two wickets in the first innings to become the highest wicket-taker this season, couldn’t make any headway and with Bhuvneshwar Kumar continuing to be listless, Delhi jogged along towards the target.UP’s fight evaporated with Praveen Kumar’s wicketless opening spell and Gambhir took full advantage. He carved Tyagi for five boundaries, carted the left-arm spin of Praveen Gupta for 49 runs with five sweetly struck fours, and was untroubled by Piyush Chawla. He reached his second ton in successive matches – he had cracked one in the semi-final chase – with a slash over gully off Tyagi and brought up the nine-wicket victory with a push to point.

Lack of sufficient evidence, a more rigorous judicial process and an inexplicable botch-up on the part of the ICC allowed Harbhajan Singh to get away with a 50% fine, it emerged after Justice John Hansen read out the reasons for his verdict a day after the hearing in Adelaide.Andrew Symonds’ inability to conclusively say whether Harbhajan Singh had used the word monkey or a Hindi abuse, and his admission that the language did not fall under the requirements of a level 3.3 offence played a crucial part.But Hansen also said Harbhajan had “reaped the benefit” of database and human errors, with his offence in November 2001 – when he was fined 75% of his match fee and given a suspended sentence of one Test – not being made available to the assisting counsel at the time of sentencing. He said he “would have required more extensive submissions as to the offence in mitigation, which could have led to a different penalty”.In a 22-page document that detailed the reasons for his decision, it emerged that Sachin Tendulkar’s word could have had a big role to play too. Unlike Mike Procter, who thought Tendulkar was not in a position to hear what was uttered, Hansen said “extensive video footage” establishes that Tendulkar “was within earshot and could have heard the words”.Tendulkar said he heard Harbhajan “use a term in his native tongue which appears to be pronounced with an “n”. He said this is a term that sounds like “monkey” and could be misrepresented for it.”Symonds couldn’t recall if he had heard Harbhajan use that particular Hindi abuse and accepted that it was a possibility. He also didn’t find favour with the judge with his explanation for abusing Harbhajan after he had patted Brett Lee on the back side. Symonds said he had objected because “a Test match is no place to be friendly with an opposition player” but Hansen dismissed that explanation (“If that is his view I hope it is not one shared by all international cricketers”).Michael Clarke’s account was critical, considering that it did not coincide favourably with the rest. “It is not without significance that the Australian players maintain other than Mr Symonds that they did not hear any other words spoken, only the ones that are said to be of significance to this hearing,” Hansen said.”This is a little surprising in the context where there was a reasonably prolonged heated exchange. Indeed Mr Clarke went so far as to say that he did not hear Mr Symonds say anything. Given Mr Symonds’ own acceptance that he initiated the exchange and was abusive towards Mr Singh, that is surprising. This failure to identify any other words could be because some of what they were hearing was not in English.”Hansen’s report included the statement of agreed facts that contained the signatures of the seven players concerned. He also pointed out to the “agreement” between Symonds and Harbhajan in Mumbai last year, adding that it was Symonds who had breached it by “provocative abuse”.Towards the end of his statement, though, Hansen admitted that the ICC had advised his assistant counsel, John Jordan, of only one of Harbhajan’s previous infractions, a Level 2.8 offence back in April 2003 when he made an abusive comment to an umpire. However, it was only after his verdict that Hansen was made aware of the three other cases involving Harbhajan.The first, a Level 1 offence in 1998, was overlooked because offences under the old Code of Conduct were not included in the ICC database. The second, a Level 1 offence in November 2005, was not made available because of a “human error”. Hansen said the extent of his punishment wouldn’t have changed even if he knew about the first two but added that knowledge of the third, a Level 2 offence in November 2001, “could have led to a different penalty”.Hansen denied any deal had been struck between legal counsel for the Australian and Indian players to downgrade the charge. He was also critical of all parties involved in the confrontation in Sydney, saying “their actions do not reflect well on them or the game”.

It’s never easy to tell what’s going through Steve Harmison’s head, but on a day when he produced his first five-wicket haul of the New Zealand tour, the good vibes were more clearly visible than usual. While his fellow bowlers succumbed to injury and illness – and in Chris Tremlett’s case, ended up being booked on a flight back to England – Harmison bowled ten overs off the reel to finish with figures of 5 for 100, a performance that sparked his side’s fightback against the New Zealand Select XI.Even so, Harmison has suffered too many barren days of late to allow one day of success to go to his head. “I got marginally better the more and more I bowled,” he said. “It feels as though I’m getting better, and to get a five-wicket haul is great. I’ve been in the country eight days, I’ve bowled in three innings and I’ve got eight wickets. There’s a lot of improvement to come from that, and hopefully it will carry on through the three Tests.”Harmison’s arrival in New Zealand was delayed by five days following the birth of his fourth child, Charlie, which put a significant dent in his preparation time, especially since he had not bowled competitively since the tour of Sri Lanka before Christmas. “I wouldn’t swap the world for coming here late,” he said, “but I am the sort of bowler that does take time to [get used to] being in a different country. I’ve acclimatised better than I thought.”Though he bowled with good rhythm and stamina in the Sri Lanka series, Harmison admitted his performances at the end of last year would count for little now. “It’s a new scenario and new pitches because I’ve had six weeks off,” he said. “But I feel in as good a shape as I’ve ever been. I had a good blowout after Christmas as everyone needed, but then I got into the gym and worked hard for five or six days a week. I’ve been working on my strength and stability, and I’m not as floppy as I used to be, and I feel as though that has shown today.”His rhythm and control was slightly awry at the start of today’s spell, but Harmison found his line and length as the innings went on. “I get better through lengthy spells,” he said. “I’m going to take each day as it comes, keep going and keep trying. I was picking things up and changing things the more the day went on, but today a few things clicked in my action and I came up with a few wickets.”To be tinkering with his approach so close to a Test match is far from ideal, but Harmison conceded that where his form is concerned, there’s no real alternative. “I’m as frustrated as anybody, but it’s the way I am and it’s not for want of trying,” he said. “I try my nuts off every time I go on the field. Sometimes at the top [of my action] things aren’t going right, but it’s at the top and you can’t drag it back. All I’ve ever done is to try my best on the field, and sometimes on trips things get better through time.”Harmison, however, admitted he wouldn’t find his full range until he takes the field at Hamilton for the first Test. “There’s still a bit more in there,” he said, “but that always comes with adrenalin, when you’re being watched by 10-15,000 people. The intensity always up when it’s a Test match and you’re representing England against another country. That’s not a negative thing, it’s just something you do as an individual, to lift that one or two percent more.”I bowled some quick balls, some good balls, and some bad balls as well,” he said. “but the more and more this trip has gone on there have been more good balls in an over than bad. I’ve got to be relatively happy.”He was also relatively happy with the way England’s warm-up match had panned out. “Sometimes you need days like that,” he said of England’s first-innings collapse. “If you bowl a team out for 80 and get 500 it’s a waste of time. You want to be tested and do a bit of soul-searching, lick your wounds and have a look deep inside. I think the majority of us have done that and it’s the ideal workout for Hamilton next week.”

Ireland XI 307 for 7 (Morgan 196*, N O’Brien 45) beat Abu Dhabi XI 282 (Fayyaz Ahmed 72, Rizwan Khan 64, Eaglestone 3-40, K O’Brien 3-48, Thompson 3-53) by 25 runs
ScorecardIreland’s preparations for their tour of Bangladesh received a boost with a 25-run win over an Abu Dhabi XI under lights at the Sheik Zayed Stadium.Phil Simmons, the Ireland coach, rested several senior players, and the move looked to have backfired as they slid to 12 for 3. Reinhardt Strydom who was run out without scoring on his first appearance, Paul Stirling made 0 and William Porterfield 1.But Eion Morgan, who scored a double-hundred on this ground a year ago, thrashed a magnificent unbeaten 196, reaching his hundred off 107 balls before accelerating as the innings progressed, taking only 64 deliveries to score the remainder of his runs . He put on 97 for the fourth wicket with Niall O’Brien and then 182 in 27 overs with Alex Cusack. In all Morgan smashed 23 fours and five sixes, giving only one chance near the end.Ireland’s bowlers also showed early nerves, but Kevin O’Brien took three wickets as the home side tottered on 50 for 4. Only opener Rizwan Khan of the top five reached double figures, and when his battling 47-ball 64 was ended by Phil Eaglestone, Abu Dhabi were 94 for 5. Gopal Nitten and Fayyaz Ahmed added 89 for the sixth wicket, but they kept up a chase that was always just off the pace, although they had three-and-a-half overs remaining when they were bowled out.The only concern for Ireland came when Cusack pulled up after one over with a groin strain.

Nida Dar is the only member of Pakistan’s World Cup qualifiers squad not to make the 14-member squad for the Asia Cup scheduled to begin in Sri Lanka on May 2.Dar, still to make her debut, did not feature in any of the qualifiers’ matches in South Africa, yet other newcomers, Shumaila Mushtaq, Almas Akram, Javeria Khan, have been given a chance to prove themselves in Sri Lanka. Urooj Mumtaz has been retained as captain. Mumtaz led Pakistan to the qualifiers final where they lost to South Africa but nevertheless managed to gain a place in the World Cup next year.Pakistan open the tournament with a match against Sri Lanka. For the first time Bangladesh has also been included in the Asia Cup.Pakistan squad:
Urooj Mumtaz (capt), Tasqeen Qadeer, Sajjida Shah, Bismah Maroof, Nain Abidi, Sana Javed, Sana Mir, Qanita Jalil, Asmavia Iqbal, Batool Fatima (wk), Sadia Yousuf, Shumaila Mushtaq, Almas Akram, Javeria Khan.

The BCCI has sought an explanation from umpire Amiesh Saheba for his remarks, made to a Mumbai-based tabloid, about Sreesanth’s behaviour. Saheba, one of the on-field umpires during the match in Mohali after which Harbhajan Singh and Sreesanth had their now-infamous exchange, has been withdrawn by the governing council of the Indian Premier League from his next two matches.Saheba told Sreesanth had been warned by him and fellow umpire Aleem Dar, and went on to say the fast bowler was “disliked in the Indian dressing room”. “Sreesanth was sledging Mumbai’s batsmen right from the start,” Saheba said. ” He was over the top throughout the match and was acting like a petulant schoolboy. My colleague Aleem Dar and I warned him twice and we warned [Punjab captain] Yuvraj [Singh] too.”Saheba said Sreesanth didn’t heed the warning. “It was obvious by then that victory for Kings XI Punjab was a mere formality, but Sreesanth kept at it. Musavir Khote was the last man out for Mumbai, and Sreesanth was the one who got him. He even sledged Khote when he was on his way back to the pavilion. Surely, this would not have escaped the eyes of the Mumbai players.”During the post-match handshake between the two teams, we came to know that Sreesanth said something to Harbhajan, who was in a foul mood. What happened next, everybody knows.”Saheba and Dar were not called for a hearing held by the IPL on Monday, at which Harbhajan pleaded guilty to the charges of slapping Sreesanth and was banned by the match referee, Farokh Engineeer, for the rest of the first IPL season. He was also fined 100% of his match fee and will now be paid for only two of the matches he played in the tournament instead of his full US$850,000 auction fee.While condemning Harbhajan’s act, Saheba said Sreesanth wasn’t a favourite in the India dressing room. “He is one of India’s main bowlers, and yet, he is not doing anything to get rid of that schoolboy image of his. His colleagues are not too happy with that.”

1888-89
A private tour which was not deemed to be a Test series until years later, so a number of those involved died never knowing they had played Test cricket. The touring squad, assembled by Major Wharton, contained few established players but were still more than good enough for a raw and equally inexperienced South Africa team, winning both Tests by large margins. In all, there were 16 matches against teams made up of anything between 15 and 22 players before the Test.
South Africa 0 England 2 Drawn 01891-92
Again a low-key and private tour which was only upgraded to Test status years later. To show how low-key, on the day the one-off Test started, England were also playing in Australia; three Hearne brothers played in the match, two for England and one for South Africa; and two players – Ferris and Billy Murdoch – were making their debuts for England after already representing Australia. Ferris took 13 for 91 in an innings win.
South Africa 0 England 1 Drawn 01895-96
Another one-sided series with England, a much stronger outfit under Lord Hawke, winning two Tests by an innings and the other by 288 runs. South Africa’s batsmen had no answer to George Lohmann. He took 15 for 45 in the first Test – including 8 for 7 and a hat-trick in the second innings – and then 12 in the second Test, including 9 for 28, and eight in the third. He finished with 35 wickets at 5.80, a record for a three-Test series unlikely to be bettered.
South Africa 0 England 3 Drawn 01898-99
England, again under Lord Hawke, were given a shock in the first Test, winning by 32 runs after conceding a 106-run lead on the first-innings. It was 132 not out from Pelham Warner, who carried his bat in the second innings, that spared England’s blushes. The second Test again had South Africa ahead on the first innings, Jimmy Sinclair taking 6 for 26 and then hitting 105, but set 246 to win, they managed only 35 in 22.4 overs. This was the first tour to feature first-class games outside the Tests.
South Africa 0 England 2 Drawn1905-06
Pelham Warner led a moderate England side in the first series since the Boer War, and South Africa took the lead after a battling win, their first, in the opening Test. Set 284, they were 105 for 6 before a stand of 121 between Gordon White and Dave Nourse rebuilt the innings. There were still 45 needed when the last pair came together but Nourse and Percy Sherwell steered them home. They recorded a more convincing nine-wicket win in the second match after bowling England out for 148 and 160, and secured the series in the third Test (which started after a one-day break) with a thumping 243-run victory, engineered by Tip Snooke who took 12 for 127. England gained consolation with a four-wicket win but South Africa underlined their dominance with an innings win in the last game. On matting wickets, South Africa’s legspin and googly bowlers were far too good for the England batsmen.
South Africa 4 England 1 Drawn 0

1907
The success in 1905-06 meant that the first major visit by South Africa was eagerly anticipated, but on turf wickets the spinners who had been so dominant at home were far less effective. Rain washed out the third (and final) day of the Lord’s Test with South Africa following on; at Headingley, Colin Blythe was the difference between the sides, taking 15 for 99 in a low-scoring game won by England; at The Oval, South Africa were 159 for 5 chasing 256 when bad light intervened.
England 2 South Africa 0 Drawn 21909-10
Henry Leveson-Gower’s side was weak in the batting department, although it did boast Jack Hobbs, and that was to cost them a hard-fought series. Hobbs finished with 539 runs at 67.37 but no other England batsman passed 300. South Africa took the first two Tests, Bert Volger’s 12 for 181 ensuring a tense 19-run success at Johannesburg. England fought back in the third with Hobbs, batting at No. 7, underpinning their chase with 93 not out. South Africa sealed the series with a four-wicket victory at Cape Town and then lost the final game. George Simpson-Hayward finished with 23 wickets at 18.26, the last time an underarm bowler played a major part in a Test series.
South Africa 3 England 2 Drawn 01912
South Africa were by far the weakest side in the ill-fated Triangular Series, which also featured Australia. They lost two of their three Tests against the Australians – rain saved them in the other – and were well beaten in all three games by England. SF Barnes was at his best, taking 34 wickets at 8.29, but South Africa’s batting was woeful, failing to pass 100 in three of their six innings.
England 3 South Africa 0 Drawn 0

1913-14
This was to be the last tour by any side for seven years, and South Africa were a team in transition while England sent their strongest squad yet under Johnny Douglas. England won the first two matches by an innings, Barnes taking 27 wickets at 9.77. He ended the series, and his Test career, with a record 49 wickets at 10.93, and 83 wickets in seven successive Tests against South Africa. Barnes polished off South Africa as they fell 91 runs short when chasing 396 in the third, but despite another 14 wickets from Barnes, Herbie Taylor, who was the outstanding South African batsman, batted his side to a draw in the fourth Test. The final Test, in which Barnes refused to play, was nevertheless won by England by ten wickets.
South Africa 0 England 4 Drawn 11922-23
Frank Mann led a reasonably strong side for the first post-war series but they went behind with defeat in the opening game, squaring the series in a gripping one-wicket win at Cape Town. Durban was marred by poor weather, and the fourth match, watched by a record crowd, also ended in stalemate. The decider, back in Durban, was played to a finish and Jack Russell, in what was to be his last Test, scored hundreds in each innings, the first Englishman to do so, to steer England to a 109-run win.
South Africa 1 England 2 Drawn 21924
Rain blighted the summer and South Africa’s batting was not good enough to cope with unfamiliar conditions. The series started in dramatic fashion when GM Parker was summoned from the Bradford Leagues and took 6 for 152, but South Africa then capitulated for 30 in 48 minutes. They batted much better second time round but still lost by an innings. Catterall followed his hundred in that defeat with another at Lord’s, but then Hobbs, Sutcliffe and Woolley all made centuries as England piled up 531 for 2 and won by an innings and 18 runs for the second time. South Africa followed on for the third successive Test when losing at Headingley, and then rain ruined the last two matches.
England 3 South Africa 0 Drawn 21927-28
A remarkably weak England side, led by Ronnie Stanyforth, who had never played county cricket, won the first two Tests and then drew the third. South Africa kept the series on the boil with a win in the fourth Test thanks to a hundred from HW Taylor and eight wickets from George Bissett. England, who lost all five tosses, were put in and after a close first innings, Bissett, aided by a strong wind, took 7 for 29 and South Africa squared the series with an eight-wicket victory.
South Africa 2 England 2 Drawn 1

1929
England’s batsmen managed ten hundreds between them in a well-fought series. The first two Tests were drawn – games were still only over three days – and despite a hundred from Tuppy Owen-Smith (who played rugby for England), South Africa lost by five wickets. The only one-sided match came at Old Trafford where Tich Freeman took 12 for 171 as England won by an innings. South Africa controlled the Oval Test, taking a first-innings lead of 234, but hundreds from Wally Hammond and Bert Sutcliffe secured a draw for England.
England 2 South Africa 0 Drawn 31930-31
England learned from their mistakes of 1927-28 and selected a much stronger squad, but still ended up losing the series. The one-eyed Buster Nupen, not South Africa’s first choice spinner, took 11 for 150 in a 28-run win in the first Test, and there followed four draws. The second Test in Cape Town was the first in South Africa to be played on turf as opposed to matting, while the fourth in Johannesburg was the last on matting. Rain affected three others games to varying extents and Deane, South Africa’s captain, retired mid series and was replaced by Horace ‘Jock’ Cameron.
South Africa 2 England 0 Drawn 31935
South Africa recorded their first series win in England with the only result of the summer coming at Lord’s where Xen Balaskas, a legspinner of Greek ancestry, took 9 for 103 and Bruce Mitchell made 164. England pressed hard for a series leveller but South Africa’s batsmen held firm, and in the final Test South Africa piled up 476 on a perfect pitch and England, who replied with 534 for 6, had no chance of forcing the win they needed. A successful tour ended in tragedy when former captain Jock Cameron contracted a fever on the boat home and died. He was 30.
England 0 South Africa 1 Drawn 41938-39
A series that will forever be remembered for the fifth Test in Durban which ended in a draw after ten days. It was enough to sound the death knell for timeless Tests. Wally Hammond, who had switched from professional to amateur, led England and he and Eddie Paynter both topped 600 runs in the series. The first two matches were high-scoring draws, but the third Test was won by England by an innings after South Africa collapsed for 103 in their first innings. South Africa had the best of the fourth Test – Hammond’s eighth successive correct call – but rain washed out the final day. With the series up for grabs, the fifth Test was deemed timeless. The pitch was perfect, and rain during the game baked it hard and made it, after rolling, almost as good as new. South Africa scored 530 and 481; England replied with 316 and, set 696, were cruising on 496 for 3 at the end of the ninth day. But Hammond realised they had to leave to catch their ship, and with rain in the air, he ordered his batsmen to hit out. At 4pm a thunderstorm hit Durban with England 654 for 5, 42 short of victory and that was that.
South Africa 0 England 1 Drawn 4

1947
In a boiling summer, crowds flocked to matches in unprecedented numbers as the post-war passion for any sport continued. The year was dominated by Denis Compton and Bill Edrich, who both passed 3500 runs, and although South Africa were in the firing line more often than not, they battled hard and competed throughout. Alan Melville, their captain, scored hundreds in the first three innings of the series and deserved to steer his side to victory in the opening match when they finished on 166 for 1 chasing 227. At Lord’s, in front of their adoring home supporters, Compton made 208 and Edrich 189, Doug Wright took 10 for 175, in an innings win, and both batsmen scored hundreds in a seven-wicket win in the third Test. Len Hutton made a hundred in a ten-wicket win at Headingley, and the summer concluded with a gripping game at The Oval where South Africa, with Bruce Mitchell making 120 and 189 not out, finished on 423 for 7 chasing 451. It was a year to be a batsman: Compton made 753 runs, Edrich 552 (and 16 wickets), Mitchell 597, Dudley Nourse 662 and Melville 569. v
England 3 South Africa 0 Drawn 21948-49
Humiliated by West Indies in 1947-48, MCC drew up rules with meant they would always send the best side available, and that was fortunate as they played a tight series, winning 2-0 thanks to narrow victories in the first and last Tests. The win in Durban went down to the wire, England scrambling home by two wickets in the last over. Batsmen largely dominated thereafter, and it was only some bold captaincy from Nourse, looking for a series-levelling win, that enabled England to sneak a three-wicket victory in Port Elizabeth after being set 172 in 95 minutes. Seven batsmen averaged more than 50.
South Africa 0 England 2 Drawn 31951
Dudley Nourse’s 208, made with a fractured thumb, laid the platform for South Africa’s win in the first Test where, despite being skittled for 121 in their second innings, they bowled England out for 114 to win by 71 runs, their first win for 16 years. At Lord’s South Africa were trapped on a wet wicket and Roy Tattersall (12 for 101) spun them to defeat on the third afternoon. England won the third Test by nine wickets, Hutton finishing on 98 not out, two short of what would have been his 100th hundred. After a high-scoring draw, the decider at The Oval went to England by four wickets, but only after Hutton had become the first batsman to be given out obstructed the field in a Test.
England 3 South Africa 1 Drawn 11956-57
As was too often the case during the decade, play was on the whole slow and the captaincy too cautious. More than 100,000 watched the first Test where Trevor Bailey (5 for 20) bowled out South Africa for 72 and gave England a 131-run win, and they were again dismissed for 72 in the second, Johnny Wardle taking 12 for 89, as England went two-up with a 312-run victory. Hugh Tayfield’s 8 for 69 was not enough to prevent England battling a draw in the third Test, but in the fourth he took 9 for 113, bowling unchanged for five hours, as England lost their last five wickets for 39 to lose by 17 runs. The final Test was played on a poor, relaid pitch in Port Elizabeth and Tayfield squared the series when he grabbed 6 for 78 as England, chasing 189, made 130. On the third day of the game only 122 runs were scored. Tayfield finished the series with 37 wickets at 17.18, Wardle with 26 at 13.80.
South Africa 2 England 2 Drawn 11960
A series overshadowed by the no-balling of Geoff Griffin at Lord’s. In a damp summer, South Africa were no match for England and lost the first three Tests by large margins in conditions which favoured the seamers. It was not until the fifth Test that South Africa passed 250. With the game dominated by fierce debate over throwing, Griffin’s hat-trick at Lord’s was overshadowed when he was no-balled 11 times. He never played Test cricket again although he remained on the tour as a batsman. Even the draws at the end of the series were dreary, South Africa set stiff targets which were always beyond them. Fittingly, rain ended the last day of the summer early.
England 3 South Africa 0 Drawn 21964-65
Mike Smith’s side won the series but the signs of how good the South Africans were to become were clear. England won the first Test after piling on 485 for 5 and then Fred Titmus and David Allen, who shared 35 wickets in the series, spinning South Africa out twice on a deteriorating wicket. England were poised for victory in the second Test only for Colin Bland to defy them with a gutsy hundred. The third and fifth Tests were drawn, and England had to cling on in the fourth where they finished on 153 for 6. The obdurate Ken Barrington made 508 runs at 101.60.
South Africa 0 England 1 Drawn 4

1965
South Africa’s last tour for 29 years and one which seemed at the time to herald the start of a golden era for South African cricket. The three-Test series in a split summer was superb. England held on, seven down, in the Lord’s Test; at Trent Bridge Graeme Pollock played one of the great innings, making 125 in 140 minutes in damp, bowler-friendly conditions, and then his brother Peter took nine wickets in a 94-run win. The Oval Test was set for a thrilling climax with England on 308 for 4 chasing 399 when a thunderstorm struck.
England 0 South Africa 1 Drawn 21968-69
MCC went as far as naming a side, but were lambasted for leaving Basil D’Oliveira out despite a big hundred at The Oval. When Tom Cartright withdrew from the squad, D’Oliveira was drafted in but that infuriated the apartheid government in South Africa and they made clear that the Cape-coloured D’Oliveira was unwelcome. South Africa’s prime minister John Vorster fumed: “This is not the team of the MCC … it is the team of the anti-apartheid movement.” There was no backing down and the tour was scrapped.1970
The end of the pretence that normal sporting relations were possible. Despite government pressure and massive public disquiet and threats of violence, the tour was on until as late as May 23 when the board finally, and reluctantly, accepted that it was not possible to guarantee the safety of the tourists or spectators.