Empire Cricket Booklet

CHAPTER THREE

Guardians of the Game

The Role of the Press in Popularising the 1888/89 Tour and Establishing the South African Cricket Association

JONTYWINCH

contacts that he had made when serving as treasurer of the Western Province Cricket Club during a five-year stint with the military in Cape Town. He relied to a great extent on William 'Joey' Milton, the president of the Western Province Cricket Club and a high-ranking civil servant. Milton was able to structure the tour itinerary and to arrange for the Cape government to give the team the run of the railways at an almost nominal rate. The success of the tour depended heavily on the influence of the media. In the absence of administra tive bodies, the press had for a number of years assumed responsibility for keeping interested parties aware of developments in the game. Newspapers were popular at the time - there were, for example, three in Kimberley - and they provided details of fixtures, teams and meetings, whilst also affording the sport much space with regard to comments and match reports. Their coverage of games encompassed an area that comprised British colonies, Boer republics and high commission territories. Newspapers also publicised matches staged by each of the major population groups - African, coloured, Indian and white. Although cricket writers appeared to wield a free hand in the course of the visit by Warton's team, Milton's influence as the tour organiser was never in doubt. He was a formidable administrator, an 'engrosser of power and reluctant to delegate'. 1 An

I ntroductlon It is the aim of this chapter to examine the role played by local journalists during an important early phase in South Africa's sporting history. It will seek to demonstrate the extent to which the press not only generated interest in cricket but shaped perceptions of teams and players. Newspapers did of course have their own agendas; they were often bitter rivals even though the journalists who spent much of the day engaged in cricket matters shared a deep commitment to the game. An attempt will be made to analyse the contribution of cricket writers in guiding the South African game through its first international contact and setting up a 'national' administration. It will be noted that cricket had different meanings for those involved in the tour - or were marginalised by it - depending on their social positions. The chapter will focus on three influential journalists - Charles Finlason, Harry Cadwallader and John Tengo Jabavu - and explore the means through which they used the game to express and promote their contrasting ideologies. Preparing for the 1888/89 Tour When Major Robert Gardner Warton's English cricket team arrived at the Cape in December 1888, there were no South African provincial or national cricket administrations in place. The tour was organised through Warton being able to link with