History of Test Cricket From 1890 To 1900 - Hawke in South Africa 1898-99

Hawke in South Africa 1898-99

Lord Hawke led a second tour to South Africa. Again, the England side was at far from full strength, with 9 Test match debuts for England in the series, most notably that of future English cricket captain Plum Warner, who carried his bat through England's second innings in the first Test for 132. The first Test was South Africa's best to date, and they were set 132 to win. But Albert Trott, who also played three Tests for Australia, took 5 for 49 to dismiss them for 99.

South Africa had a chance to record their first Test victory in the second Test, after dismissing England for 99, then scoring 177 themselves. 330 from England set them a challenging 246. But the South Africans collapsed again and were bowled out by Schofield Haigh (6 for 11) and Trott (4 for 19) for a feeble 35 off only 114 balls.

Murray Bisset, who was a little under 23 years old, was the youngest Test captain at time and remained so for more than 50 years. He later became the chief justice of Rhodesia and earned a knighthood.

England in South Africa 1898-99. Match length: 3 days. Balls per over: 5. Series result: England won 2-0.