Empire Cricket Booklet

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THE 1907 CRICKET TOUR OF ENGLAND

South Africa ground out a draw in the First Test after England had made them follow-on: 'We may have had better cricketers, but we have not had better fighters ... We had war on the retreat, a matter of backs to the wall.' 47 For leading the South Africans so skilfully in the First Test their captain, Sherwell (who had also scored an outstanding century in the second innings), was presented with a 10-guinea cup by Sir Henry McCullum, the governor of Natal, prompting 'Linesman' of the Mail to comment that 'he deserved a cup, and in addition the Victoria Cross' . 48 The players seem to have bought into the image of themselves as representing South Africa in sporting combat, with G. A. Faulkner writing: 'The Test Matches are the surest indication of national

the selection of the 1907 touring side over J. R. M. 'Sunny Jim' Mackay, an Australian who had had a phenomenal season in 1905/06 for New South Wales, scoring 559 runs in just six innings. In the opinion of Wisden, 'for brilliancy his batting had never been surpassed...except for Trumper'. 50 A club cricketer since his arrival on the Rand in 1906, he was considered the best leg-side batsman in South Africa, if not the world, and came under consideration by the South African selectors when L. J. Tancred pulled out of the tour. 51 His replacement by Mackay was advocated by the Transvaal members of the selection committee, J. H. Sinclair and P. W.Sherwell, with vigorous cheerleading coming from the Rand Daily Mail, which was owned by Abe Bailey. Opposition to his inclusion was led by Murray Bisset, the Western Province member of the selection committee, who claimed that Mackay was 'in no sense identified with South African cricket'. It was pointed out that Mackay had not qualified to play for Transvaal in the 1906/07 Currie Cup, let alone represent South Africa, and simply had not earned his spurs in South African cricket as the Anglo-Africans in the squad had done. In fact two of the key players in the South African team were Englishmen. A. W. 'Dave' Nourse was born in Croydon and had gone to South Africa at the age of 18 as a soldier in the West Riding Regiment, and had stayed on after the South African War. 52 R. 0.'Reggie' Schwarz of Lee, London, had emigrated at an even later age, being 27 when he moved to South Africa, having already represented England at rugby. 53 Schwarz was described as an 'Anglo-African� together with A. E. 'Ernie' Vogler. 54 Vogler had come to London early in his career in an attempt to make his way as a cricket professional with Middlesex. Middlesex, already having two Australians on their books, did not have room for another colonial. 55 The fact that one of these, Albert Trott, played Test cricket for both Australia and England shows the fluidity in nationality that was possible in the empire at the time. In England too, there was 'considerable indignation at an Australian going over to England as a representative of South African cricket'. 56 For the Daily Express the issue seemed 'rather bald. Surely it was a question of a South African team or a team from South Africa.' 57 Ideas of what constituted a

The brilliant Australian batsman, J. R. M. 'Sunny Jim' Mackay, moved to South Africa

after a contractual disagreement with

Melbourne Cricket Club and was subsequently linked with the tour to England in 1907

greatness in the summer pastime, and though South Africa has lost the only game brought to a conclusion, she has proved a foe fully worthy of the steel of the Mother Country.' 49 The complexity of what it meant to be an imperial South African in the period before Union was not just confined to questions of colour, as in the 'Krom' Hendricks case. There was as much controversy in