Scotland v South Africa 31 May & 2 June 1924 by Cricket Scotland

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Ground:	Hamilton Crescent, Glasgow
Scorecard:	Scotland v South Africans
Event:	South Africa in British Isles 1924

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DateLine: 4th February 2013

 

 

Day 1:
After doing so well in the match in Edinburgh with the South Africans, it was most disappointing that the Scottish eleven in the second match at Partick should have given such a feeble display of batting.

 

D.J. Meinjes, C.D. Dixon, and latterly E.P. Nupen got some assistance from the pitch, and had the Scots at their mercy. There was not a redeeming feature about the Scottish innings, though R.S. Clark batted in style, and got all his runs by turning the ball nicely to leg, a stroke he proved an adept at.

 

Most of the Scots were out to bad strokes, and three were taken at the wicket. The first wicket went at 7 and the others at 11, 18, 18, 22, 25, 29, 29, and 36.

 

Meinjes was taken off at the fall of the eighth wicket, when he had four for 19. He was the man who was most easily scored from, bur he could hardly have been relieved because he had been expensive. Nupen who took his place, soon finished off the innings. It was Dixon, however, who seemed to be troubling the batsmen most. He obviously was getting a lot of spin on the ball.

 

That there was little wrong with the pitch was seen when the South Africans had their innings. Certainly the opening pair took no risks at the start, an hour producing less than 40 runs. But the batsmen were always at their ease.

 

The tea interval brought about a great change in the character of the cricket. R.H. Catterall began at once to force the pace, and after being in an hour for 21 runs, he added 51 in forty five minutes, included in which were four 6's. Three of these were full-blooded drives, one past the side of the pavilion, one into the pavilion enclosure, one almost reached the stand at the other end, and it was the biggest hit of the lot, and the other was a pull to leg.

 

It was merry and entertaining cricket. M.J. Commaile, who captained the side in the absence of H.W. Taylor, joined with his colleague in the new spirit that came over the game, with the result that, while it had taken an hour to make 40, the remaining 81 runs the pair put on were got in about three quarters of an hour.

 

It was delightful hitting, clean and true. Catterall took no risks, and he might have been taken by D.C. Stevenson when 71, and in the early part of the innings, when 32, by J.M. Graham. The latter fieldsman, however, did well to stop the ball, which was travelling with great force. And Commaile ought to have been stumped when he had 42.

 

The fielding of the Scots did not improve as the game advanced. M.J. Susskind should have been caught by the wicket-keeper from the first ball he received, and both he and J.M. Blankenberg had "lives" later, and the fieldsmen who were responsible for these were all in the deep, T.M. Lawson, W.J.M. Beardmore, and W. Anderson. Both batsmen went in for hitting , and both had one 6. There were six such hits in the game.

 

An improvement all round was seen in the play of the South African side compared with the Edinburgh match, and that was most notable in their fielding. They seemed a more business-like side in Glasgow, and gave little away. Their batting, too, provided no little entertainment.

 

There was an attendance of about 3000 during the day. No rain fell, but the weather was dull and cold. Unless there is bad weather, the South Africans seem certain to secure their first victory of the tour.

 

Day 2:
The South Africans gained the first victory of their tour at Hamilton Crescent. Partick, yesterday, and Scotland suffered a crushing defeat by an innings and 286 runs.

 

Another poor batting display was given by the Scots, who fared little better in their second innings than in the first, and were all dismissed a second time for a paltry 67 runs. There was little that was worthy of note about their batting, excepting its feebleness and a general disinclination, as on Saturday, to go out to the bowling.

 

Most of the batsmen were content to let the ball hit the bat, instead of advancing to meet it.

 

The two Greenock men, who opened the batting, gave the side a good send-off, and 27 had been scored before J. Kerr, in reaching forward to play a ball from C.D. Dixon, missed it and was bowled.

 

That was really the beginning of the end. W.N. Walker played with a considerable degree of confidence, and was batting in good style when he was, unfortunately, run out. He was fourth to go, and none of the others could make anything of the bowling of D.J. Meinjes, Dixon, and CV.P. Carter, who was put on at 45, and at once met with success.

 

Walker was himself to blame for his dismissal. He called D.C. Stevenson for what would have been a short run if secured, and when the ball, hit by the latter, was going straight to a fieldsman, and when the call should have been with the batsman, who never left his ground.

 

Both men found themselves at one end together, and, though the ball was sent to that end, the wicketkeeper was able to return it to the bowler to secure the wicket. The bails had been previously disturbed, but Meinjes, who took the ball, had the presence of mind to lift a stump with the ball in hand.

 

Kerr was in for about an hour for his 10, Walker for about ninety minutes, and D.C. Stevenson's stay was one of twenty minutes, though he failed to get a run.

 

Again the wicket was helping the bowlers to a considerable extent, but, as on the first day, it was the timidity of the batsmen more than anything that led to Scotland's second batting collapse. Two men got a "pair of spectacles," T.M. Lawson and A.R. Simpson.

 

The Scottish innings lasted two hours and ten minutes, and there were never any real hopes, after Kerr's dismissal, that the Scots would be able to last out the afternoon, so that play might be continued into the third day. They had been left with four hours to do so, and were 353 runs in arrears after the South Africans had closed their first innings at the lunch interval, with five men out for 389.

 

Neither of the two Saturday not-outs, J.M. Blankenberg and A.D. Nourse, gave a great deal of trouble, and the score had been raised from 204 to 214 when the former was disposed of. Nourse, who had five 4's, was in for an hour, and was attempting a pull to the boundary when he was taken at mid-on.

 

Then came a most prolific partnership, which lasted for eighty minutes, and that G.A.L. Hearne and C.H. Deane had not been idle in that time demonstrated by the fact that they put on 141 runs when together, raising the total from 248 to 389.

 

Many bowling changes were tried, but it was noteworthy that neither Stevenson nor Lawson was called upon. Kerr, however, went on himself just before the lunch interval with his slow deliveries.

 

Only two overs did he bowl, and from these the score made a rapid rise. It was increased by no fewer than 31 runs, the first over yielding 21 and the second 10. Every ball in the first over was scored from. Hearne had a 6 and a single, and Deane three 4's and a 2' It was brisk going, and the spectators who were present to the number of 500 or 600, enjoyed the sport. Prior to that each man had had a 6, Hearne off Graham and Deane off Walker.

 

Both batted in free and easy style, and while Deane gave no actual chance, Hearne was missed on two occasions. He might have been taken by Kerr in the slips when he had 25, but the catch, low down on his right side, was a very hard one, and A.R. Simpson should have stumped him at 36.

 

Hearne had two 6's and three 4's, and Deane one 6 and ten 4's. There were nine 6's in the innings, which was closed at the lunch interval, and had a duration of four hours and forty minutes.

 

If allowance is made for the slow batting during the first hour on Saturday, the rate of progress during the remainder of the innings was over 80 runs an hour.

 

As on Saturday, the cricket of the South Africans was of an attractive character in all departments. The batting was bright and entertaining, the bowling always very good, if perhaps hardly so good as the results achieved would lead one to suppose, and the work in the field afforded little opportunity for the snatching of runs. Only one chance was lost, and it was a very hard one to R.H. Catterall.

 

It may be said that the South Africans amply atoned for their indifferent form in the Edinburgh match. The poor show made by the representatives of Scotland was all the more regrettable following the highly creditable appearance in the first game with the tourists.

 

Dixon was the most successful bowler for the South Africans. Over the two innings he had ten wickets for 53 runs.

 

The drawings over the two matches would come to about £250. Half of the proceeds go to the South Africans.

(Article: Copyright © 2013 Cricket Scotland http://cricketscotland.com)