Empire Cricket Booklet

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ABE BAILEY AND THE IMPERIAL CRICKET CONFERENCE

outcome. Its annual report issued in December 1912 positively gloated: 'The Triangular scheme proved, as was anticipated, a failure, and as it cannot possibly be carried out in Australia or Africa, will doubtless not be heard of again for many years to come.' 83 South Africa's 4-0 home defeat against the 1913/14 MCC tourists continued the downward spiral in the country's cricket since its brief golden age. Nonetheless, as the schedule for future international tours adopted by the ICC meeting on 16 July 1912 confirmed, South Africa was now accepted as an equal partner in the triumvirate of Test-playing countries. In the final analysis, Bailey's initiative had served to give South African cricket a distinct edge over others who might aspire to Test match status,

the West Indies, India and New Zealand. Following the eventual admission of the latter to the ICC and Test status, it was agreed at the 1930 ICC meeting that England, Australia and South Africa, as founder members, were entitled to two votes each, and the others one. As observed by Rowland Bowen, by establishing an Imperial rather than an International Cricket Conference in 1909, the founders 'excluded Phila delphia, arguably more powerful at the time than the surprising proponents of the idea, South Africa'. 84 The point was that Bailey's fundamental design was to assert and entrench South Africa's new-found status as an official Test-playing country, and he had no interest whatsoever in promoting Philadelphia

The captains in the 'triangular' Tests (left to right): Frank Mitchell (a Yorkshireman who represented England at rugby, became one of Abe Bailey's secretaries and led South Africa at cricket), C. B. Fry (England) and Syd Gregory (Australia)