Three weeks before the 9/28 at Old Wanderers, George Lohmann took 7 for 38 and 8 for 7 — match figures of 15 for 45 — at Port Elizabeth, dismissing South Africa for 30 in the second innings and ending the match with a hat-trick. The 30 all out remained the lowest Test innings total for sixty years; the 15/45 was then the best match analysis in Test cricket. The First Test of the 1895-96 series ran two days.
South Africa's Test cricket dated to 1888-89 and had produced no overseas victory and few competitive innings. The 1895-96 series was their third Tests; Lohmann, recovering from tuberculosis, had joined Lord Hawke's tour party as a working holiday.
England 185; South Africa 93. England chose to bat again rather than enforce, partly to give Lohmann time on a deteriorating pitch and partly because of an unsettled bowling rotation.
England, captained by Lord Hawke, won the toss at the Crusaders Ground (later St George's Park) and made 185. South Africa replied with 93; Lohmann 7 for 38 in 23.3 four-ball overs. England declined to enforce the follow-on and made 226 in their second innings, setting South Africa 319.
The second South African innings lasted 94 balls. Lohmann's spell ran 14.2-3-7-8 — five maidens, eight wickets, including the last three balls of the match for a hat-trick (Frank Hearne, Charles Vintcent and George Rowe). South Africa were 30 all out and lost by 288 runs. The total — 30 — would remain the lowest in Test cricket until New Zealand made 26 against England at Auckland in 1955.
Lohmann's match analysis of 15 for 45 was a Test record at the time and held until Wilfred Rhodes took 15/124 (different averages) in 1903; for sheer wickets-per-match it was passed only by Sydney Barnes (17 for 159, 1913-14) and matched in pure economy by Jim Laker (19/90, 1956).
England 185 first innings.
South Africa 93; Lohmann 7/38.
England 226 second innings; declared at no point.
South Africa set 319; collapse begins immediately.
Lohmann takes 8 wickets for 7 in 14.2 four-ball overs.
Hat-trick ends the match: Hearne, Vintcent, Rowe.
South Africa 30 all out — Test cricket's then-lowest total.
England win by 288; Lohmann 15/45 match figures.
13 Feb 1896
England 185; South Africa 93 (Lohmann 7/38).
13 Feb, evening
England begin second innings instead of enforcing.
14 Feb
England 226; South Africa set 319.
14 Feb, afternoon
Lohmann 8/7 with hat-trick; South Africa 30 all out.
“On a difficult wicket Lohmann was as nearly unplayable as a bowler can be.”
Lohmann followed the 15/45 with 9/28 at Old Wanderers and 7/42 at Cape Town to finish the series with 35 wickets at 5.80. Within five years he was dead of tuberculosis, in Matjiesfontein, aged 36. The 1896 series remains his definitive monument.
The most efficient Test bowling performance ever recorded against an organised side: 15 wickets at three runs each, including a match-ending hat-trick.
South Africa's 30 all out held as the Test minimum for 59 years; New Zealand finally beat it in 1955 with 26. The 15/45 match figures held as the Test record until Sydney Barnes's 17/159 in 1913-14. Lohmann has no statue at St George's Park; a small framed scorecard hangs in the pavilion.
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.