| Tour of South Africa 1961-62 Captain : John Reid | |
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| Seventh New Zealand Test tour ( October 1961 - March 1962) Second Test-playing tour of South Africa by New Zealand (previous tour 1953-54) | The South Africans welcomed New Zealand to the republic for the second and last time until 1994. Because South Africa left the Commonwealth in May 1961 they were deemed to be no longer members of the Imperial Cricket Conference; so - to be strictly correct - the series, always recognised as proper Test matches in the records, were unofficial 'representative' matches. Seventy students made an anti-apartheid protest outside the New Zealand Board of Control headquarters in Christchurch while the selection meeting to pick the tour party was taking place. The record-breaking achievements of John Reid, the New Zealand captain, including an aggregate of 1915 first-class runs, were especially remarkable because he slipped and injured his knee in Sydney on the outward journey. Reid is reported to have suffered pain all through the tour and was barely able even to climb stairs at the end of a day’s play. The New Zealanders won their first Test match abroad at Cape Town. By winning again in the final Test at Port Elizabeth, they squared the series two matches all. In March 2012 this team met again in areunion at Basin Reserve, organised by Don Neely.
| All New Zealand tours Previous tour England 1958 Next tour India, Pakistan and England 1965 Next tour of South Africa 1994-95 | |
| Members of the Test tour party (15) Opening batsmen: John Guy, Graham Dowling, John Sparling. Middle-order batsmen: Paul Barton, Zin Harris, Murray Chapple, Noel McGregor. All-rounder John Reid Wicket-keepers:Artie Dick, John Ward. Spin bowlers: Jack Alabaster, Bryan Yuile. Fast Bowlers: Gary Bartlett, Frank Cameron, Dick Motz. | J C Alabaster | O | 31 | LBG | | G A Bartlett | CD | 20 | RF | | P T Barton | W | 26 | RHB | | F J Cameron | O | 29 | RFM | | M E Chapple | C | 31 | RHB (LM) vice-captain | | A E Dick | O | 25 | WK | | G T Dowling | C | 24 | RHB opener | | J W Guy | W | 27 | LHB | | P G Z Harris | C | 34 | RHB | | S N McGregor | O | 29 | LHB opener | | R C Motz | C | 21 | RFM | | J R Reid | W | 33 | RHB RM captain | | J T Sparling | A | 23 | RHB opener OB | | J T Ward | C | 24 | reserve WK | | B W Yuile | CD | 20 | SLA/LM | | |
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Provincial representation (Plunket Shield teams A - Auckland (1) C - Canterbury (5) CD - Central Districts (2) ND - Northern Districts (0) O - Otago (4) W - Wellington (3) Average age of team at time of first Test match (8 December 1961) : 26 yrs 11 months. | |
| Test Appearances made before the tour | Reid 34, McGregor 15, Guy 10, Alabaster 8, Chapple 8, Sparling 5, Harris 3, Bartlett 0, Barton 0, Cameron 0, Dick 0, Dowling 0, Motz 0, Ward 0, Yuile 0. | | |
| Tour Officials | Gordon Leggat | Tour Manager | Mitch McLennan | Scorer/baggageman |
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| Selectors | Gordon Leggat (tour manager), John Reid (captain), Jack Newman. | | |
| Selection | Gordon Leggat was appointed manager in January 1961. He was also one of the selectors. Unavailable : Bert Sutcliffe had announced his retirement. Tour Party Announced : 22 April 1961. Not selected: Bob Blair, Alex Moir. Zin Harris and Murray Chapple were brought back but only three seamers were selected for the tour and one of these, Gary Bartlett, was prone to injury. | Time between selection and departure from New Zealand 167 days (22 April to 6 October) | |
| Travel ChristchurchQ Sydney PerthQ Johannesburg | Before the tour, two team get-togethers were organised at Christchurch and Wellington. The team re-assembled in Christchurch on 6 October 1961 and flew to Sydney that day. They flew to Perth, arriving on Sunday 8 October for 3 days of net practice and played Western Australia. They left immediately after the match on a Qantas flight for South Africa, leaving Perth Airport at 6 pm. The team arrived at Jan Smuts Airport, Johannesburg, on 17 October 1961. Two days later they flew from Jan Smuts to Southern Rhodesia for their first match. | Time spent in South Africa 133 days (17 October - 27 February) | |
| On-tour selection panel | John Reid (captain), Murray Chapple (vice-captain), Jack Alabaster. | | |
| Reinforcements | None. Graham Dowling fractured a finger at Perth and did not play for a month. John Ward chipped a bone in his thumb against Natal and was discomforted for virtually the rest of the tour. The manager Gordon Leggat played in one match against the Natal XI. | | |
| Fixtures/Results | a | Perth | Western Australia | Drawn | b | Bulawayo | Rhodesia | Drawn | c | ϯ Kwe Kwe | Rhodesia Districts | Drawn | d | Salisbury | Rhodesia | Drawn | e | Johannesburg | Transvaal | Drawn | f | ϯ Umzinto | Natal Districts | Drawn | g | Durban | Natal | Drawn | h | ϯ Krugersdorp | Transvaal Districts | Won inns 113 r | i | Kimberley | Griqualand West | Won 158 r | j | Cape Town | Western Province | Drawn | k | ϯ Oudtshoorn | Western Province Districts | Won 8 w | l | Port Elizabeth | Eastern Province | Drawn | m | DURBAN | SOUTH AFRICA First Test | LOST 30 r | n | Pretoria | South African Universities | Won 37 r | o | Benoni | North-Eastern Transvaal | Drawn | p | JOHANNESBURG | SOUTH AFRICA Second Test | DRAWN | q | CAPE TOWN | SOUTH AFRICA Third Test | WON 72 r | r | ϯ Kimberley | Country Districts XI | Drawn | s | Bloemfontein | Orange Free State | Drawn | t | East London | South African Colts | Drawn | u | ϯ Kokstad | A Natal XI | Drawn | v | Pietermaritzburg | Natal | Drawn | w | JOHANNESBURG | SOUTH AFRICA Fourth Test | LOST inns 51 r | x | East London | Border | Won 9 w | y | PORT ELIZABETH | SOUTH AFRICA Fifth Test | WON 40 r | z | Adelaide | South Australia | Lost 6 w | a’ | Sydney | New South Wales | Lost 59 r |
| � not first-class Time spent in South Africa before First Test: 52 days (17 October - 8 December) | |
| Test appearances on tour | 5 - Alabaster, Bartlett, Cameron, Dick, Harris, McGregor, Motz, Reid, 4 - Barton, Dowling 3 - Sparling 2 - Chapple, Guy, 1 - 0 - Ward, Yuile. | | |
| Match appearances T Test match x other match ∙ played for opposition W won L lost D drawn N no result A abandoned u unknown result | | a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h | i | j | k | l | m | n | o | p | q | r | s | t | u | v | w | x | y | z | a ‘ | J C Alabaster | x | | x | x | x | x | | x | x | x | | x | T | x | x | T | T | x | x | x | x | x | T | x | T | x | | G A Bartlett | x | x | x | | x | | x | | | x | x | | T | x | x | T | T | x | x | | x | x | T | | T | x | x | P T Barton | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | T | x | | T | | x | x | x | x | x | T | | T | x | x | F J Cameron | x | x | | x | | x | x | x | | x | | x | T | x | x | T | T | | | x | | x | T | x | T | x | x | M E Chapple | x | x | x | x | | x | x | x | x | x | x | | | x | x | | T | x | x | x | x | x | T | | | x | x | A E Dick | x | | x | | | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | T | | x | T | T | | | x | x | x | T | | T | x | x | G T Dowling | x | | | | | x | x | | x | x | x | x | | x | x | T | T | x | | x | | x | T | x | T | x | x | J W Guy | | x | x | x | x | | x | x | x | | x | x | T | | x | T | | x | x | | x | x | | x | | x | x | P G Z Harris | | x | x | x | x | | | x | x | | x | x | T | x | | T | T | x | x | x | | x | T | x | T | | | S N McGregor | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | | x | x | x | T | x | x | T | T | | x | x | x | | T | x | T | x | x | R C Motz | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | | x | x | T | x | | T | T | x | x | x | | x | T | x | T | | x | J R Reid | x | x | | x | x | x | x | | x | x | | x | T | | x | T | T | | x | x | | x | T | x | T | x | x | J T Sparling | x | x | x | x | x | x | | x | x | x | x | x | T | | x | | T | x | | x | x | | | x | T | | | J T Ward | | x | | x | x | | x | | | | | | | x | | | | x | x | | x | | | x | | | | B W Yuile | | | x | | x | x | | x | x | x | x | | | x | x | | | x | x | | x | | | x | | x | x | J G Leggatt | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | x | | | | | | | R E S U L T S | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | W | W | D | W | D | L | W | D | D | W | D | D | D | D | D | L | W | W | L | L | | a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h | i | j | k | l | m | n | o | p | q | r | s | t | u | v | w | x | y | z | a ‘ |
| New Zealand’s six previous Test tour results: in England 1958 (5 Tests) - lost 0-4 in India & Pakistan 1955-56 (8 Tests) - lost 0-2 and lost 0-2 in South Africa 1953-54 (5 Tests) - lost 0-4 in England 1949 (4 Tests) - drew 0-0 in England 1937 (3 Tests) - lost 0-1 in England 1931 (3 Tests) - lost 0-1 | |
| Highlights | • • • • | | |
| Tour Summary | | P | W | L | D | Aban | Test Matches | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | Other first-class matches | 17 | 3 | 3 | 11 | - | Minor matches | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | - | All Matches | 28 | 7 | 5 | 16 | - |
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| Return to New Zealand JohannesburgQ Adelaide SydneyQ Christchurch | After the fifth Test and a visit to Kruger National Park game reserve, the New Zealanders returned from Johannesburg (via Mauritius, the Cocos Islands and Perth) to Adelaide, arriving on 28 February. They were met by Sir Donald Bradman as President of the Australian Board of Control. They flew to Sydney by way of Melbourne for the final matches. The team spent an extra day in Sydney before leaving for Christchurch on 14 March 1962. The touring side’s final match, played after arriving home, was played against Ron Roberts’ XI in Christchurch on 16 March. | Time away from New Zealand 160 days (6 October to 14 March) | |
| Finances | | | |
| Written accounts of the tour | "Sword of Willow" by John Reid (A H & A W Reed, Wellington, 1963) "John Reid's Kiwis" R S Whitington (Whitcombe & Thoms, Christchurch, 1962) | | |
| Postscript
Other Test tours in 1961-62
| England (M.C.C.) to India & Pakistan 1961-62
Indians to West Indies 1961-62
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