Empire Cricket Booklet

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JAMES LOGAN

denied that Logan had specified that he should be manager, arguing that 'his chief point was that he should be consulted in the matter'. 4 6 The WPCU remained firm: 'This meeting is of the opinion that no guarantee coupled with any condition can be accepted, and that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the secretary of the South African Cricket Association: 47 Consequently, with no real influence in the tour, Logan publicly withdrew his offer of support, stating that he 'wished the team every success, but in view of his chief conditions having been passed over, must persist in his withdrawal'. 4 8 Logan and Lord Hawke It was during his visit 'home' in 1894 that Logan made moves, beyond the scope of the WPCU, to secure influence over future cricketing tours between England and South Africa. Despite being confined to the fringes of the Cape cricketing establishment, Logan could see the potential of involving himself in these early sporting exchanges. Using the association with George Lohmann to his advantage, the Laird wasted little time in making contact with Lord Hawke, the great promoter of overseas tours, with a view to securing the next English tour to South Africa. 49 By the time of Logan's return to the Cape, discussions on a tour of South Africa by an English team with Lohmann in a managerial capacity were under way. 50 Lohmann, who had become a member of the Western Province and Cape Town Cricket Clubs, and turned out regularly for Logan's team at Matjiesfontein, was by now a valued member of the Cape's cricket scene and as such was considered the natural choice to lead the next English tour to the colony. Sanction, however, first had to be secured from William Milton and the cricketing powers in Cape Town. 'It is to be hoped for several reasons that the Western Province Cricket Union will enter into negotiations with George Lohmann re the English team he is prepared to bring out,' declared the Cape Argus. 'Such a team could not be in better hands than the great Surrey professional's.' 51 Lohmann's involvement was of course pivotal to the ambitions of James Logan. With Lohmann at its head, Logan could at last exert influence over a colonial tour

and he wasted little time in formulating plans for the visit of Hawke's team. On 9 February 1895, he was invited by Milton to attend the annual general meeting of SACA in Cape Town where it was unanimously resolved that 'subject to satisfactory arrangements being concluded between the Association and Mr Lohmann, that Mr Lohmann's proposal to bring an English team to South Africa next season be approved'. 52 By June 1895, arrangements for the tour were well in hand, with the touring party scheduled to play matches across South Africa. 53 By the end of the year, James Logan's name was being publicly linked alongside Lohmann's with tour arrangements. 'The Laird of Matjiesfontein ... is so well known throughout South Africa for his business aptitude and keen sportsmanship ... [and] he is largely interesting himself for the success of Lord Hawke's Cricket Team,' wrote Country Life in December 1895. 5 4 According to the journal, Logan 'had very much to do in England with its successful organisation' and had already made arrangements to host Hawke and his team at his base at Matjiesfontein and to stage a game that would 'uphold the honour of his oasis in the Karoo'. With Hawke's team in place it would be a merry Christmas for Logan whose involvement in the tour meant that politics and commerce were as much on the agenda as cricket. Having made acquaintance with Logan's political and business associates, some of the team, who had completed their first three matches in the Cape, were invited to Matjiesfontein on4January 1896 'where they enjoyed the hospitality of Mr.J. D. Logan at his famous place in the Karoo'. 55 It was the first of a number of visits to Matjiesfontein by Hawke's men and they must have been struck by what Logan had achieved during his time in South Africa. C. B. Fry's autobiography Life Worth Living described Matjiesfontein in glowing terms, referring to Logan as the 'stocky Scotsman with a long rectangular face and a pugnacious yellow moustache - a blend of genial hospitality, business-like energy and latent pugnacity'. 5 6 Because of the disruptions caused by the Jameson Raid on the Transvaal, Hawke's party lingered longer in the Cape than originally planned, and at the end of