1912 Triangular Tournament
| 1912 Triangular Tournament | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | 27 May – 22 August 1912 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Result | England won the nine-match tournament 4–2–0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Teams | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 England
|
 Australia
|
 South Africa
|
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| Captains | |||
| C. B. Fry | Syd Gregory | Frank Mitchell | |
| Most runs | |||
|
Jack Hobbs (391) Wilfred Rhodes (263) |
Warren Bardsley (392) Charles Kelleway (360) |
Dave Nourse (220) Aubrey Faulkner (194) |
|
| Most wickets | |||
|
Sydney Barnes (39) Frank Woolley (17) |
Bill Whitty (25) Gerry Hazlitt (19) |
Sid Pegler (29) Aubrey Faulkner (17) |
|
The 1912 Triangular Tournament was a Test cricket competition played between Australia, England and South Africa, the only Test-playing nations at the time.
The ultimate winners of the tournament were England, with four wins in their six matches, but the tournament was deemed a failure, with disappointing crowds and uncompetitive cricket, caused in part by a weakened Australia team.
The tournament is one of only three tournaments in Test history to have been played between more than two nations, the others being the Asian Test Championships of 1998–99 and 2001–02.
The idea of a competition involving all three of the nations then playing Test cricket (Australia, England and South Africa) was proposed at the first meeting of the Imperial Cricket Council in July, 1909. The original proposal was for a tournament to be held every four years, with the first hosted by England in 1912.
For a variety of reasons, the tournament was not a success. The summer was one of the wettest since records began in 1766: rainfall in the three months of June, July and August was more than twice the annual average, and August, 1912, was the coldest, dullest and wettest August of the 20th century. At that time, pitches were not covered to protect them against rain, so the batsmen were at a distinct disadvantage on the proverbial sticky wicket. These problems were exacerbated since Tests in England were in those days played over three days rather than the five days that is now usual. Two of the matches between England and Australia were drawn due to the weather, with the final match being played on a pitch said to be "better suited to water polo". [1]
In addition, disputes between the players and management in Australia meant that six leading Australian players refused to tour (including the captain, Clem Hill, and Victor Trumper, neither of whom played for Australia again), weakening a side that had otherwise been level with England in recent Ashes series. The leg spin and googly bowlers in the South African side were very effective on the matting pitches then in use in South Africa, but were less threatening on English grass pitches. As a result, England dominated, winning four of their six matches and drawing the other two.
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