The South Africans asked M.C.C.
to send an amateur side, apparently for economy reasons.Leveson-Gower said every effort was made to
raise such a team, but it would have been too weak and an insult to their
hosts. So a number of professionals were invited after all. George Gunn,
however, was not included in the team. He did not open his letter of
invitation on receipt, forgot all about it, and was unaware of his selection.
The tour brought England's second consecutive defeat in South Africa, the batsmen being unable to cope
with South Africa's
four googly bowlers on matting wickets.After the first three Test matches (which made up his entire Testplaying career), Leveson-Gower stood down
as captain in favour of F.L.Fane.
At the end of the tour further
matches had been arranged, supposedly because some of the amateurs wanted to
travel north and see the Victoria Falls.However, the professionals stuck to their
original undertaking and would not go without extra payment. In the end only
Messrs Bird, Fane, Leveson-Gower and Simpson-Hayward went to Rhodesia.
There they played in three matches, supported by seven South African players.
Lord Hawke (chairman),H D
G Leveson-Gower,C B Fry.
Selection
M.C.C. appointed
H.D.G.Leveson-Gower to the Test selection committee on 17 March 1909, and
asked him to captain their side to South Africa.
He said every effort was made to raise an amateur team,
but half of the selections made by himself and the selection committee were
professionals.The names of those
invited were published on 9 August.
Unavailable:A.P.Day, C.B.Fry, K.L.Hutchings, G.L.Jessop, A.C.MacLaren, R.H.Spooner, P.F.Warner and several other amateurs were
unable to spare the time to make the tour,
Tour partyannounced : on 30
August 1909.
Tufnell was added to the side in September.
Time between selection and departure from England
68 days
(30 August - 6 November)
Travel
SouthamptonTCape
Town
‘Saxon’
The date of departure was brought forward by one week from 13
November to allow the team some extra time for practice. The team left London’s Waterloo Station by the boat express on 6
November 1909 to board the Union-Castle Line steamship 'Saxon'at Southampton Docks They sailed, via
Madeira, to Cape Town,
arriving on 23 November.
Time spent in South Africa
113 days
(23
November - 16 March)
On-tour
selection panel
Henry Leveson-Gower (captain),
Francis Fane (vice-captain), Wilfred Rhodes,
Colin Blythe.
Reinforcements
The Hon Richard
Ponsonby played in the match at Pietermaritzburg because
Tufnell was indisposed. Ponsonby was private secretary to the Governor of
Natal, Sir Matthew Nathan.
The amateurs continued the tour into Rhodesia and
were reinforced by A E Cook, F J V Hopley, G W V Hopley, H S Kaye, P T Lewis, R O
Schwarz, P W Sherwell, J W Zulch,
•George Thompson took 7-26 in the first
match against the Currie Cup holders Western
Province and Colin Blythe captured 7
for 20 in the second match against Natal.
• David
Denton struck a century in each innings against Transvaal at Johannesburg.
•Simpson-Hayward’s lobs brought him six
wickets for 43 in the opening Test match at Johannesburg
•Jack Hobbs (187) and Wilfred Rhodes (77)
began the final Test with an opening partnership of 221
•Hobbs scored more than
1000 first-class runs on the tour, topping fifty or hundred in more than half
his innings
Tour
Summary
P
W
L
D
Aban
Test Matches
5
2
3
0
-
Other first-class matches
8
5
1
2
-
†Minor matches
5
3
0
2
-
All Matches (excluding Rhodesia)
18
10
4
4
-
All Matches(including
Rhodesia
)
21
12
4
5
-
Return
to England
Cape TownTSouthampton
Captain Wynyard and the professional
members of the team sailed from Cape Town on
16 March 1910 on the 'Armadale
Castle'.
The amateurs Messrs Bird,
Fane, Leveson-Gower and Simpson-Hayward went to Rhodesia to play in three more matches
The ‘Armadale Castle’ docked at Southampton
on 2 April. Strudwick was sick with malaria on arrival.
Time away from England
147 days
(6
November-2 April )
Finances
Accounts
of the tour
Postscript
The team reunited to play
against Lord Londesborough's XI in September 1910.