The South African cricket team toured England in the second half of the 1965 season, winning the three match Test series 1–0, with two matches drawn. They had a young and improving side. Their players included Graeme Pollock and his brother Peter, Colin Bland and Eddie Barlow.
The Pollock brothers were mainly responsible for their win by 94 runs in the Second Test at Trent Bridge. In overcast conditions, ideal for Tom Cartwright in particular, Graeme scored 125 out of 160 in 140 minutes, the last 91 coming in 70 minutes. He had come in at 16–2, and the score had declined to 80–5, before his partnerships with the captain, Peter van der Merwe, and Richard Dumbrill enabled the score to reach 269. He made another 59 in the second innings. His brother contributed bowling figures of 5-53 and 5-34.
South African team
Peter van der Merwe (captain) Ali Bacher Eddie Barlow Colin Bland Jackie Botten Harry Bromfield Norman Crookes Richard Dumbrill Dennis Gamsy Tiger Lance Denis Lindsay Mike Macaulay Atholl McKinnon Graeme Pollock Peter Pollock
The manager was Jack Plimsoll, a former Test player.Wisden 1966, p. 299.
Test series summary First Test
Second Test
Third Test
Other matches No.DateOpponentsVenueResultRef 1 26–29 June Derbyshire Queen's Park, Chesterfield Lost by seven wickets 2 30 June–2 July Yorkshire Bramall Lane, Sheffield Drawn 3 3–6 July Essex Castle Park, Colchester Drawn 4 7–9 July Surrey The Oval, London Drawn 5 10–13 July Gloucestershire County Ground, Bristol Drawn 6 14–16 July Minor Counties Osborne Avenue, Jesmond Won by 203 runs 7 17–20 July Leicestershire Grace Road, Leicester Drawn 8 22–27 July ENGLAND (1st Test) Lord's, London Drawn 9 28–29 July Kent St Lawrence Ground, Canterbury Won by an innings and 147 runs 10 31 July–3 August Glamorgan St Helen's, Swansea Drawn 11 5–9 August ENGLAND (2nd Test) Trent Bridge, Nottingham Won by 94 runs 12 11–13 August Middlesex Lord's, London Won by five wickets 13 14–17 August Hampshire County Ground, Southampton Drawn 14 18–20 August Sussex County Ground, Hove Drawn 15 21–24 August Warwickshire Edgbaston, Birmingham Drawn 16 26–31 August ENGLAND (3rd Test) The Oval, London Drawn 17 1–3 September Lancashire Old Trafford, Manchester Won by 166 runs 18 4–6 September T. N. Pearce's XI North Marine Road, Scarborough Lost by eight wickets O-D 7 September T. N. Pearce's XI (fill-up match) North Marine Road, Scarborough Lost by 13 runs O-D 9 September Yorkshire Park Avenue, Bradford Abandoned
References
Annual reviews Playfair Cricket Annual 1966 Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 1966
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 South Africa in England, 1965 at Cricinfo CricketArchive – tour summaries South Africa to England 1965 at Test Cricket Tours