Tour of India 1996-97          Captain: Hansie Cronje

Twenty-first official Test tour

First Test-playing tour of India by South Africa

  (October - December 1996)

South Africa had just played a one-day international tournament in Kenya, which they won, and the selectors retained the same fourteen players for the Titan Cup triangular with which this tour began. South Africa won all six of the preliminary limited-overs international matches, but then lost to India in the final.

The Test series was played between two well-matched teams. India had not lost at home for ten years while South Africa remained undefeated in all the Test series, apart from West Indies 1992, played since its readmission to Test cricket.

Needing just 170 runs to win the first Test, India batted poorly in the second innings at Ahmedabad and lost. Bob Woolmer complained of poor practice facilities as the South Africans struggled to come to terms with the conditions. Better batting at Calcutta and Lance Klusener’s remarkable bowling performance on his debut levelled the series, before a crushing defeat on another poorly prepared pitch at Kanpur.

Although the extent of match fixing in cricket was not revealed until the next tour of India in 1999-00, the team were offered money to throw a match on this tour, too. The players were already unhappy about this late addition to the itinerary at the end of a tough tour, as well as the benefit match for Amarnath being billed as an official one-day international, but several members strongly protested the rest of the team not to become involved with fixing.

Other South African tours

Previous Tour

Zimbabwe 1995-96

Next tour

Pakistan 1997-98

Next tour of India

1999-2000

Members of the Test tour party (14  + 2)

Openers  Gary Kirsten, Andrew Hudson, Herschelle Gibbs.

Batsmen  Hansie Cronje, Daryll Cullinan, Jonty Rhodes, John Commins (r)

Wicket-keepers  Dave Richardson

Spin bowlers  Nicky Boje, Derek Crookes, Pat Symcox, Paul Adams (r)

Fast bowlers  Fanie de Villiers, Allan Donald, Lance Klusener, Brian McMillan.

Representation of teams:   

EP Eastern Province (1)

FS - Free State (3)

N - Natal (5)

NT Northern Transvaal (1)

T - Transvaal (1)

WP - Western Province (4)

Average age of  team at time of first Test match

(20 November 1996):

       26 yrs  6 months

ODI  Member of squad for the Titan Cup World Series.

Test Appearances made before the tour

Richardson 28,  Cronje 27,  Rhodes 27,  Donald 25,  Hudson 25,  McMillan 23,  Kirsten 20,  Cullinan 19,  de Villiers 14,  Symcox 6,  Adams 2,  Boje 0,  Crookes 0, Gibbs 0,  Klusener 0.

Team Officials

Muzzell was an an Executive Committee member of the United Cricket Board.

Selectors

Peter Pollock (convenor of selectors), Clive Rice, Bob Woolmer (coach),

Selection

Unavailable:  Craig Matthews (so Kirsten took over the vice-captaincy); Brett Schultz;  Jacques Kallis (stress fracture of back); Shaun Pollock (ankle); Paul Adams (groin injury).

Tour Party Announced:  5 November 1996.

The 14 players who did duty in both the four-nations tournament in Kenya and in the Titan Cup series in India were retained as the Test squad.

Not selected:  Meyrick Pringle, Adam Bacher.

An unnamed keeper was on standby and contingency travel arrangements had been made for him to be flown out to India (an eight hour flight) if necessary.

Time between selection and departure from South Africa

  x days

(5 November to )

Travel

Only a few days after return from the Kenya ODI tournament, they flew out again to India. The team arrived in Bombay on 15 October, and later that evening flew to Hyderabad for their first match in the Titan Cup.

Time spent in

   61 days

(15 October - 15 December)

On-tour selection panel

Hansie Cronje (captain),  Bob Woolmer (coach),  Robbie Muzzell (manager)

Reinforcements

Paul Adams and Shaun Pollock had been injured and were on standby. Within hours of playing his first match back with Western Province Paul Adams was asked on 14 November to reinforce the team in India. He flew out on Monday morning 18 November, arrived on Tuesday and was thrown into the first Test on Wednesday.

Jonty Rhodes strained a hamstring in the first Test and John Commins was called up.  Commins himself soon became unavailable for selection with a fractured finger.

Allan Donald went home with a bruised heel after the Second Test and was not replaced.

Fixtures/Results

† not first-class

§  one-day internationals

Time spent in  before First Test: 

36 days

(15 October - 20 November)

Test appearances on tour

3  -  Adams,  Cronje,  Cullinan,  Hudson,  Kirsten,  McMillan,  Richardson,  Symcox

2  -  de Villiers,  Donald,  Gibbs,  Klusener.

1  -  Rhodes.

0  -  Boje,  Crookes.

Highlights

•   In the first Test Donald took 4-37 in the Indian first innings and 3-32 in the second.

•   At Calcutta Gary Kirsten became the third South African to score a century in each innings of a Test.

•   Hudson and Kirsten had an opening stand of  236 in the first innings at Calcutta

•   Cullinan also scored a century, with an unbeaten 153 at Eden Gardens

•   Lance Klusener secured the win with a sensational haul of 8-64 after going wicketless in the first innings.

•   Herschelle Gibbs scored 200 (his maiden double century) and 171 against India A at Nagpur.

Tour Summary

Return to South Africa

Jonty Rhodes and Allan Donald flew home with injuries on Monday 2 December arriving in Johannesburg next day.

Return to South Africa was on 15 December 1996.

Time away from South Africa    x days  

(14 October to 15? November)

Finances