Ronnie Stanyforth's MCC tourists won the 1927-28 series in South Africa 2-1 with two drawn — the second consecutive English win in the country. Wally Hammond made his Test debut and a maiden Test hundred (51 in his first innings, then 90 and 66*) and the off-spin of George Geary took 19 wickets in five Tests at 20.
South African Test cricket had been weakened by the loss of Aubrey Faulkner to coaching in England and by Herbie Taylor's reduced availability. The MCC tour was an opportunity to introduce younger players: Hammond, Wyatt, and the off-spinner George Geary, who was at 31 entering his Test prime.
MCC sent a relatively young side to South Africa under the 39-year-old Yorkshire amateur Ronnie Stanyforth, with Bob Wyatt as his deputy. Wally Hammond, in his first Test series, was the star batsman after his 1927 county season. Tate did not tour; Geary led the bowling.
The first Test at Johannesburg was won by England by 10 wickets after Geary's match figures of 12 for 130. The second Test at Cape Town was drawn. The third Test at Durban (matting wicket) was lost by South Africa by 87 runs after Hammond's 90 and 66 not out. The fourth Test at Johannesburg saw South Africa hit back, winning by 4 wickets — Tuppy Owen-Smith's first major Test innings, 81 and 21 not out. The fifth Test at Durban produced South Africa's win by 8 wickets, levelling the series at 2-2 — but England had already won the series on aggregate.
The final standings: England 2 wins, South Africa 2, one drawn — series 2-2 on Tests, but the official series award went 2-1 with one drawn (the count varies in reports of the era). South Africa's improved performance was largely due to the emergence of Owen-Smith as a Test all-rounder, and the consistency of the off-spin pair Vincent and Nupen.
First Test, Johannesburg: Geary 12/130; England win by 10 wickets
Hammond Test debut — 51 in first innings
Third Test, Durban (matting): Hammond 90 and 66*; England win by 87
Fourth Test, Johannesburg: Owen-Smith 81; South Africa win by 4 wickets
Fifth Test, Durban: South Africa win by 8 wickets; series ends 2-2/2-1
Dec 1927
First Test, Johannesburg — England win by 10 wickets
Jan 1928
Third Test, Durban — Hammond 90 and 66*
Feb 1928
Fourth Test — South Africa hit back
Mar 1928
Fifth Test, Durban — South Africa win, series tied/2-1 to England
“Hammond is the best young English batsman I have seen in my time. He will be a great Test player within a year.”
Hammond's 1927-28 Test debut prepared him for the 1928-29 Ashes (905 runs). Geary's 19 wickets confirmed his Test status. Owen-Smith returned to South Africa to continue medical studies but emerged as a senior all-rounder by the 1929 tour of England. Stanyforth never captained England again.
1927-28 was the second consecutive English series win in South Africa and the first that introduced Wally Hammond to Test cricket — a Test career that would, three years later, make him the central English batsman of the inter-war era.
The 1927-28 series is the moment Wally Hammond entered Test cricket. The matting-wicket Tests at Durban and Johannesburg reinforced the technical demands South African Test cricket would make until grass wickets became standard in the late 1930s.
Yorkshire v Essex
1932-06-16
On 15-16 June 1932 Herbert Sutcliffe (313) and Percy Holmes (224*) put on 555 for the first wicket against Essex at Leyton, breaking the world first-class record for any wicket and adding a layer of folklore — including a scoreboard that read 554 for several minutes and a hastily reversed declaration — that has clung to the partnership ever since.
Australia v England
1933-02-14
With the fate of the Bodyline series in the balance and England 216 for 6 chasing 340, Eddie Paynter checked himself out of a Brisbane hospital where he was being treated for acute tonsillitis, taxied to the Gabba in pyjamas and a dressing gown, and batted for nearly four hours to score 83. England drew level on first innings, won the Test by six wickets and the series 4-1.
Australia
1934-09-25
Days after the 1934 Oval Test, Bradman fell seriously ill with appendicitis that progressed to peritonitis. With antibiotics not yet available, he was given little chance of survival; his wife Jessie left Adelaide on a sea voyage to England prepared for the worst. He recovered after weeks of intensive nursing in a London nursing home and returned to first-class cricket the following Australian summer.