On this day, March 25th: First Test Cricket match played at Newlands, Cape Town v England

BY KAYLA KARIM

As many sit at home during this time, all are able to reflect on past moments. March 25^th happens to be a significant day in the cricket world, with the first ever Test match played at Newlands. The South Africa national cricket team also knows as Proteas, represented South Africa men’s international cricket. Protea cynaroides commonly known as the ‘king protea’ is South Africa’s national flower.

South Africa entered and hosted the England cricket team in the 1888-89 season. In that year, South Africa became the third Test-playing nation after facing England at Port Elizabeth, and soon after a match was played at Cape Town.  Despite being a Test match by the rules, this event was not necessarily named a ‘Test’ until South Africa formed the Imperial Cricket Conference with England and Australia in 1906. Instead these games were listed as ‘Major Warton’s XI’ vs ‘South African XI’. C.A. Smith, a decent medium pacer from Sussex, captained South Africa and for two the Major Warton’s XI, Basil Grieve and The Honourable Charles Coventry. The two Test matches constituted their entire first-class career.

South Africa was very weak losing both tests to England as English spinner Johnny Briggs claimed 15-28 in the second Test at Cape Town. Despite losing, Albert Rose-Innes of South Africa made history becoming the first South African bowler to take a five-wicket haul in Tests at Port Elizabeth.

South Africa was unable to erase the negative history that they had engraved during the beginning of the 20^th century, as their early Test record remains the worst among all current Test-playing nations with ten losses and just a solitary draw from their first eleven tests. The low point of this early period for the South African team was the English tour of 1895-96 where South Africa humiliated 3-0 in 3 Tests by an English side for the first time remotely comparable to a full-strength team and lost all of the tests by 288 runs.

It was not until 1906 that they began to emerge as a quality international team when they recorded their first Test win against England taking them seventeen years.

Today, in 2020 South Africa has become one of the most successful nations in international cricket, performing in several matches annually, between ODIs, World Cup matches and of course T20s.