South Africa v England 1898-99
Toss: England
15-Apr-2001
Toss: England. Test debuts: South Africa - M.Bisset, R.R.Dower, H.H.Francis, R.Graham, W.R.T.Solomon, V.M.Tancred; England - J.H.Board, W.R.Cuttell, S.Haigh, F.W.Milligan, F.Mitchell, J.T.Tyldesley, P.F.Warner, C.E.M.Wilson. A.E.Trott was making debut for England, having previously appeared in three Tests for Australia.
In this match Lord Hawke's team at last found themselves hard pressed and in order to win they had to play their hardest. In the end they were victorious by 32 runs, but it was only by the greatest effort that they got home. The bowling when South Africa went in to get 132 to win was superb in quality, Cuttell though he only took three wickets doing finer work than on any other occasion during the tour. He kept a wonderful length and scarcely bowled a bad ball. Sinclair who played a very fine innings of 86 was thought by the Englishmen to be the best bat in South Africa. They described him indeed as a batsman of the highest ability. G. C. B. Llewellyn is the cricketer who played so finely at Southampton for Hampshire against the Australians, and afterwards went to America with Ranjitsinjhi's eleven. Warner's fine innings of 132 which turned the fortunes of the match when the position looked almost hopeless was with one exception, the highest score hit for Lord Hawke's team in the whole of the tour.