‘Not the Same Thing as on Grass’: Political Conservatism, Cultural Pessimism, Vested Interests and Technical Inhibition—Factors in South African Cricket’s Commitment to Matting, 1876–1935

Abstract

Matting was installed at St George’s Park, Port Elizabeth, in 1876. Newlands in Cape Town soon followed suit, and before long all South African cricket was played on matting wickets. Yet in Melbourne in 1877, Australia and England engaged in the first ever Test match on a perfectly serviceable turf wicket. Despite similar geographical and environmental circumstances, South Africa failed to follow Australia’s lead in developing turf wickets, persisting with matting even after it was revealed as a key factor in the country’s fitful competitiveness. This chapter seeks to explain why this was so, forging connections between South Africa’s cricket and its distinctively regressive cultural posture, itself a product of the repressive political and socio-economic relations imposed upon the African majority by a white minority.

Thanks to Peter Muzzell (UCBSA), Andrew McLean (Humewood Golf Club) and Craig Bruton (Grid Construction, Durban) for email exchanges on the viability of turf wickets in South Africa, and to Prof. Bruce Murray and Millicent Mhlambi for assisting me in the matter of access to SACA minutes. Thanks also to Robin Isherwood for his attention to detail, and to Jonty Winch for providing a number of press references.