Bruce Mitchell (cricketer)
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| Born |
8 January 1909 Johannesburg, Transvaal |
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| Died | 1 July 1995 (aged 86) Abbotsford, South Africa |
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| Batting style | Right-hand bat | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling style | Legbreak | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: Cricinfo
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Bruce Mitchell (8 January 1909 – 1 July 1995) was a South African cricketer who played in 42 Tests from 1929 to 1949. He was a right-handed opening batsman and played in every Test South Africa played in that period.
By the end of his career he had 3471 Test runs to his name which at the time was a national record. With his eight centuries he finished just behind Dudley Nourse who made 9.
The son of a doctor, Mitchell grew up in Johannesburg, where he showed unusual cricket ability as a boy. At the age of six he was coached by Ernest Halliwell, the former South African Test captain. At school at St. John's College, Johannesburg, he received further coaching from the school's cricket coach, A. G. MacDonald. In his teens he used his large hands to master leg-spin bowling.
Mitchell made his first-class debut for Transvaal, against Border, at the age of 17. He took 11 wickets with his legbreaks and googlies. It was only later in the following season that he started to develop his batting. In 1927–28 the MCC toured South Africa and Mitchell, batting at 3, struck 40 runs. He showcased his all-round abilities against Natal in the 1928–29 trial matches and later in a game against Griqualand West he showed his fighting spirit by rescuing his side after the top six batsmen scored no more than 11 runs between them. His maiden first-class century came in England, against the successful Yorkshire side at Sheffield. For most of the games in the rest of the tour he opened the batting and it would be a position that he would stay in for most of his career.
His Test debut came against England on 15 June 1929 at Edgbaston. In both innings he produced a hundred-run opening stand with Robert Catterall and finished the game with 88 and 61 not out. The rest of the series was disappointing and he ended the Test tour with 251 runs at 31.37.
In 1930–31, he was to meet England of his own shores and in the 1st Test he made a second innings 72 in a low-scoring encounter which South Africa went on to win. He was back as opener in the 2nd Test at Newlands and he scored a national record opening stand of 260 with Jack Siedle for which Mitchell contributed 123. He scored a further three half centuries in the remaining three Test to finish with 455 runs at 50.55.
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