South African cricket team in Australia in 1931–32

The South Africa national cricket team toured Australia in the 1931–32 season and played five Test matches against Australia. Australia won the series 5–0, all of their victories being by a substantial margin, three of them by an innings.

Test series summary

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First Test

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27, 28, 30 November, 1, 2, 3 December 1931
(Timeless Test)
Scorecard
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450 (137.3 overs)
DG Bradman 226
AJ Bell 4/120 (42 overs)
170 (138.1 overs)
B Mitchell 58
H Ironmonger 5/42 (47 overs)
117 (f/o) (60.1 overs)
HW Taylor 47
TW Wall 5/14 (15.1 overs)
Australia won by an innings and 163 runs
Brisbane Cricket Ground, Woolloongabba, Brisbane
Umpires: GE Borwick and GA Hele
  • Australia won the toss and elected to bat.
  • 29 November was taken as a rest day.
  • There was no play on the third and fourth days.
  • HC Nitschke (AUS) made his Test debut.

Second Test

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18, 19, 21 December 1931
(Timeless Test)
Scorecard
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153 (73 overs)
KG Viljoen 37
SJ McCabe 4/13 (12 overs)
469 (154.5 overs)
KE Rigg 127
AJ Bell 5/140 (46.5 overs)
161 (73.3 overs)
JAJ Christy 41
CV Grimmett 4/44 (20.3 overs)
Australia won by an innings and 155 runs
Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Umpires: GE Borwick and GA Hele
  • South Africa won the toss and elected to bat.
  • 20 December was taken as a rest day.
  • LS Brown (SA) and PK Lee (AUS) made their Test debuts.

Third Test

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31 December 1931, 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 January 1932
(Timeless Test)
Scorecard
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198 (77.1 overs)
KE Rigg 68
AJ Bell 5/69 (26.1 overs)
358 (188.3 overs)
KG Viljoen 111
H Ironmonger 3/72 (49 overs)
554 (164.4 overs)
DG Bradman 167
Q McMillan 4/150 (33 overs)
225 (115 overs)
JAJ Christy 63
CV Grimmett 6/92 (46 overs)
Australia won by 169 runs
Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
Umpires: GE Borwick and GA Hele
  • Australia won the toss and elected to bat.
  • 3 January was taken as a rest day.

Fourth Test

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29, 30 January, 1, 2 February 1932
(Timeless Test)
Scorecard
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308 (140.4 overs)
HW Taylor 78
CV Grimmett 7/116 (47 overs)
513 (138 overs)
DG Bradman 299*
AJ Bell 5/142 (40 overs)
274 (123.2 overs)
B Mitchell 95
CV Grimmett 7/83 (49.2 overs)
73/0 (19.2 overs)
WM Woodfull 37*
Australia won by 10 wickets
Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
Umpires: GE Borwick and GA Hele
  • South Africa won the toss and elected to bat.
  • 31 January was taken as a rest day.
  • WA Hunt, WJ O'Reilly and HM Thurlow (all AUS) made their Test debuts.

Fifth Test

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12, 13, 15 February 1932
(Timeless Test)
Scorecard
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36 (23.2 overs)
HB Cameron 11
H Ironmonger 5/6 (7.2 overs)
153 (54.3 overs)
AF Kippax 42
NA Quinn 3/29 (19.3 overs)
Q McMillan 3/29 (8 overs)
45 (31.3 overs)
SH Curnow 16
H Ironmonger 6/18 (15.3 overs)
Australia won by an innings and 72 runs
Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
Umpires: GE Borwick and GA Hele
  • South Africa won the toss and elected to bat.
  • 14 February was taken as a rest day.
  • There was no play on the second day.
  • JHW Fingleton and LJ Nash (both AUS) made their Test debuts.
  • Clarrie Grimmett, who had taken 33 wickets in the first four Test matches, did not bowl a single ball in the match.
  • The match aggregate of 234 runs is the lowest in Test match history.
  • The total playing time of 5 hours and 53 minutes is still the shortest for a completed Test match.
  • Donald Bradman twisted his ankle in the Australian dressing room when going out to field for the 1st South African innings and took no part in the match.

References

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Annual reviews

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Further reading

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  • Bill Frindall, The Wisden Book of Test Cricket 1877-1978, Wisden, 1979
  • Chris Harte, A History of Australian Cricket, Andre Deutsch, 1993
  • Ray Robinson, On Top Down Under, Cassell, 1975
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