Early Cricket Career
A right-hander who played for Natal for 15 seasons from 1922-23 to 1936-37, Jack Siedle bowled occasionally and kept wicket just as infrequently, but his chief value to South Africa was as an opening batsman. He had had no great success when he was picked, in the 1923-24 season, for the match that was the trial for the 1924 tour to England and the 56 he scored in his second innings there was his highest score to that point, as well as the top score for his side, but he was not picked for the tour. For the next couple of seasons that decision was made to look wise as Siedle struggled for runs in the Natal side, not improving his highest score and averaging little over 20 runs per innings. But in the first match of the 1926-27 season for Natal against Border he hit his first century, 114. Two matches on, he did better, sharing a partnership of 424 for the first wicket with John Nicolson against Orange Free State which remains the record for the first wicket for Natal and for the whole of first-class cricket in South Africa to this day; Nicolson made an unbeaten 252 but Siedle's dismissal for 174 broke the partnership.
Siedle was in less good form the following year, though he managed a second century against Orange Free State. He was then called up for the third Test at Durban against the touring England team, opening the innings and scoring 11 and 10. That was not enough for him to retain his place for the remaining games of the series. First-class cricket in South Africa in 1928-29 was restricted to a series of matches around Christmas in Durban, but Siedle took advantage of the match against a weak Border team to hit an unbeaten 212, his highest score to that point, and the innings secured his place on the 1929 tour to England.
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