Empire Cricket Booklet

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DEAN ALLEN

African War. His involvement in cricket waned; he was replaced by Abe Bailey as the country's foremost benefactor, and his business and political interests were readdressed and eventually scaled back. The economics of the post-war period dictated a change in strategy for many, and Logan was not alone in this regard. Cricket had served its purpose, so too had politics, and as the great pragmatist, Logan was able to recognise that the time had come to step aside. The war had changed South African society for ever, the commercial and political landscape irrevocably altered, and for James Logan a new period of consolidation lay before him. Logan's 'golden age' within South African cricket was at an end.

a true 'sportsman' throughout colonial society. It is likely that the two factors were linked, and that Logan's fascination with the game was motivated not entirely on altruistic grounds, but rather by the material gains that could be obtained beyond merely 'playing' the sport. Logan's story is the perfect case study for analysts seeking the finite relationship between cricket, politics and business during this period. For James Logan, cricket became the perfect imperial stage upon which he could promote himself at a higher level both personally and professionally. Whatever Logan's motivation, however, there was a change in emphasis in the years following the South