Empire Cricket Booklet

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THE 1907 CRICKET TOUR OF ENGLAND

in the Edwardian period was at its height,with men like Lord Hawke,the captain of the great Yorkshire team of the era, treating professional players much as they would treat loyal servants on their country estates. In order for the South Africans to be able to be regarded as social as well as sporting equals, it had to be demonstrated that they were men of independent means who did not rely on cricket for their living. Hence the curious appearance of a list of 'South African Businesses' in the press in which every member of the touring party had his amateur credentials laid out before the public prior to their arrival in England. 17 In fact, there was some scepticism over the 'amateurishness' of the South African team. They were after all being paid eight shillings per day expenses, and this brought forth much criticism. The Marylebone Times commented that 'it is far better that it should be known that this preposterous money grant does not meet with the unanimous approval of sporting South Africans'. 18 Albert 'Ernie' Vogler, listed as an 'athletic outfitter' in the register of businesses, was discouraged from plying his trade on tour, the MCC deciding that he could not advertise his cricket balls while on tour against them. 19 In fact, the eight shillings per day expenses had been provided at the instigation of,and presumably largely out of the pocket of,Abe Bailey, and hence the players were in effect professionals. 20 Yet the team members were treated as amateur gentlemen, with each of them being listed as 'Mr.' on the match scorecards, and given their titles in press reports. 21 The arrival of the South Africans in 1907 was accompanied by a barrage of journalism that heralded them as the very epitome of good British imperialists and compared them with other tourists of recent years. The South African rugby team had completed a tour in March 1906 that had been a great success, both from the sporting and the political point of view. The Springboks were following in the footsteps of the all-conquering 1905 All Blacks, and hence had a lot to live up to in order to maintain the reputation of colonial sport. Of 28 matches played they won 25, including clear victories over Wales, Ireland and France. A hard-fought draw was obtained against the

English; Englishmen were hard working, with a spirit of fair play and fundamentally 'gentlemanly'. An essential part of the English ideal was not letting the side down. This Platonic ideal could be summed up in one word,'character'. John H. Field has written of the way in which 'Character' was a highly charged term of portentous significance for the late Victorians'. 14 Defining what character meant to the Victorians,and to the Edwardians, is not simple, for it was a concept that was open to different interpretations. But one of the key ways that the Victorians saw character being formed was through moral training and self discipline, as opposed to the Georgian view where leisure and sociability were seen as the means of character development. Character could develop through training,but it was essentially seen as being under the individual's own control. Public schools were one way of training men of good character, but it was something which was held to be open to people of all classes,or rather all individuals,for the Victorian ethos was individualistic. A good example of this is Samuel Smile's Character, in which it was emphasised that 'each man can act his part honestly and honourably,and to the best of his ability. He can use his gifts, and not abuse them. He can strive to make the best of life. He can be true, just,honest, and faithful,even in small things.' 15 This philosophy had great appeal amongst all classes towards the end of the century, and by the Edwardian era the British character was widely held to be one of the fundamental reasons for the success of the British empire and of English sport, 'in which the potentially conflicting values of teamwork and self reliance,of concentration and courage,of obedience and initiative, were presented as unproblematically compatible'. 16 Character was deemed necessary to be a gentleman, and a cricketer. An essential part of the make-up of a gentleman cricketer was amateurism. Despite the fact that many supposedly amateur cricketers were handsomely rewarded in 'expenses', the status of amateur cricketers was jealously guarded in order that a strict social hierarchy could be maintained on and off the cricket field. In the Edwardian era, it was the gentlemen batsmen who were held up as an example of English masculinity. The distinction between professional Player and gentleman Amateur