The South African cricket team toured England in the 1951 season to play a five-match Test series against England.
England won the series 3–1 with 1 match drawn.
South African team
The South African team was captained by Dudley Nourse, with Eric Rowan as vice-captain. The manager was Sid Pegler who had toured England as a player with the South African cricket team of 1912 and 1924.
The full team was:
- Dudley Nourse, captain
- Eric Rowan, vice-captain
- Jack Cheetham
- Geoff Chubb
- Russell Endean, wicketkeeper
- George Fullerton
- Tufty Mann
- Percy Mansell
- Cuan McCarthy
- Jackie McGlew
- Roy McLean
- Michael Melle
- Athol Rowan
- Hugh Tayfield
- Clive van Ryneveld
- John Waite, wicketkeeper
Tayfield was not originally chosen, but joined the party in May when it was feared that Athol Rowan's health might not be up to a full tour. Fullerton had kept wicket on the 1947 tour, but did not keep wicket at all in this tour, being played as a batsman. Endean was used as the second wicketkeeper on this tour, including one Test, but then did not keep wicket when he toured England for a second time with the 1955 team.
Nourse, Fullerton, Mann and Athol Rowan had toured England with the 1947 team; Nourse and Eric Rowan had toured with the 1935 side. Cheetham, Endean, Mansell, McGlew, McLean, Tayfield and Waite returned to England with the 1955 side, and McGlew, McLean, Tayfield and Waite came back for a third time with the 1960 team.
Before this 1951 tour, Chubb, Endean, Mansell, McGlew, McLean, van Ryneveld and Waite had not previously played Test cricket. Chubb, McGlew, van Ryneveld and Waite made their Test debuts in the first Test of this tour, and the other three had all appeared in Test cricket by the end of the series. The only player on the tour who did not appear in any of the Tests was Tayfield, who had previously played Test cricket for South Africa in 1949–50.
Test series summary
First Test
| 7–12 June 1951 (5-day match) Scorecard |
South Africa 
|
v |  England
|
| 483/9d (240 overs) AD Nourse 208 AV Bedser 3/122 (63 overs) |
419/9d (163.2 overs) RT Simpson 137 CN McCarthy 4/104 (48 overs) | |
| 121 (51.4 overs) JE Cheetham 28 AV Bedser 6/37 (22.4 overs) |
114 (65.2 overs) JT Ikin 33 AMB Rowan 5/68 (27.2 overs) |
| South Africa won by 71 runs Trent Bridge, Nottingham Umpires: HG Baldwin and F Chester |
- South Africa won the toss and elected to bat.
- 10 June was taken as a rest day.
- JHB Waite, DJ McGlew, CB van Ryneveld and GWA Chubb (all SA), and W Watson (ENG) made their Test debuts.
Second Test
| 21–23 June 1951 (5-day match) Scorecard |
| England
|
v | South Africa
|
| 311 (107.4 overs) DCS Compton 79 W Watson 79 GWA Chubb 5/77 (34.4 overs) |
115 (64.5 overs) EAB Rowan 24 R Tattersall 7/52 (28 overs) | |
| 16/0 (3.5 overs) L Hutton 12* |
211 (f/o) (96.2 overs) GM Fullerton 60 R Tattersall 5/49 (32.2 overs) |
| England won by 10 wickets Lord's, London Umpires: H Elliott and FS Lee |
- England won the toss and elected to bat.
- The match was scheduled for five days but completed in three.
Third Test
| 5–10 July 1951 (5-day match) Scorecard |
| South Africa
|
v | England
|
| 158 (84.3 overs) CB van Ryneveld 40 AV Bedser 7/58 (32.3 overs) |
211 (85.3 overs) FR Brown 42 GWA Chubb 6/51 (26.3 overs) | |
| 191 (78.2 overs) EAB Rowan 57 AV Bedser 5/54 (24.2 overs) |
142/1 (51.3 overs) L Hutton 98* NBF Mann 1/5 (2.3 overs) |
| England won by 9 wickets Old Trafford, Manchester Umpires: HG Baldwin and FS Lee |
- South Africa won the toss and elected to bat.
- 8 July was taken as a rest day.
- There was no play on the second day.
- RA McLean (SA) and TW Graveney (ENG) made their Test debuts.
Fourth Test
| 26–31 July 1951 (5-day match) Scorecard |
| South Africa
|
v | England
|
| 538 (235.3 overs) EAB Rowan 236 FR Brown 3/107 (38 overs) |
505 (224.5 overs) PBH May 138 AMB Rowan 5/174 (68 overs) | |
| 87/0 (49 overs) EAB Rowan 60* |
| Match drawn Headingley, Leeds Umpires: D Davies and H Elliott |
- South Africa won the toss and elected to bat.
- 29 July was taken as a rest day.
- There was no play on the final day.
- PNF Mansell (SA), and FA Lowson, PBH May and DV Brennan (all ENG) made their Test debuts.
Fifth Test
| 16–18 August 1951 (5-day match) Scorecard |
| South Africa
|
v | England
|
| 202 (106.3 overs) EAB Rowan 55 JC Laker 4/64 (37 overs) |
194 (87 overs) DCS Compton 73 MG Melle 4/9 (10 overs) | |
| 154 (75.5 overs) EAB Rowan 45 JC Laker 6/55 (28 overs) |
164/6 (62.1 overs) FR Brown 40 GWA Chubb 3/53 (28 overs) |
| England won by 4 wickets The Oval, London Umpires: F Chester and D Davies |
- South Africa won the toss and elected to bat.
- The match was scheduled for five days but completed in three.
- WR Endean (SA) made his Test debut.
- In the second innings, L Hutton was dismissed obstructing the field, the first such dismissal in Tests.
References
Annual reviews
Further reading
- Bill Frindall, The Wisden Book of Test Cricket 1877-1978, Wisden, 1979
- various writers, A Century of South Africa in Test & International Cricket 1889-1989, Ball, 1989
External links
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| International cricket in 1951 | |
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| Preceding season: International cricket in 1950–51 | |
| April 1951 | |
| May 1951 | |
| June 1951 | |
| Following season: International cricket in 1951–52 | |
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