Old Wanderers was a cricket ground in Johannesburg, South Africa. It was established in the 1880s and was the venue for 22 Test matches between 1896 and 1939 and was used for first-class cricket until 1945 after which it was built over, the site being used to build Johannesburg railway station. Test cricket in Johannesburg initially moved to Ellis Park before New Wanderers was opened. [1] [2] [3]
In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five-for" or "fifer") refers to a bowler taking five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded as a notable achievement. [4] This article details the five-wicket hauls taken on the ground in official international Test matches.
A total of 40 five-wicket hauls were taken during the 22 Test matches played on the ground. Three five-wicket hauls were taken during the ground's first Test match in 1896. South Africa's George Rowe took the first, taking five wickets for the cost of 115 runs (5/115) from 49 five-ball overs during the first innings of the match. England's George Lohmann and Christopher Heseltine both took five-wicket hauls later in the match, Lohmann becoming the first player to take nine wickets in a Test match innings with his 9/28, figures which were not bettered until Jim Laker took all 10 wickets in an innings against Australia at Old Trafford in 1956. [lower-alpha 1] [5]
The ground also saw a new record for best Test match bowling figures in 1913 when England's Sydney Barnes took 17 wickets in a match. These have only been bettered by Laker, who took 19 wickets in the match against Australia in 1956. [6] [7]
Symbol | Meaning |
---|---|
Date | Date the Test started or ODI was held |
Inn | Innings in which five-wicket haul was taken |
O | Number of overs bowled |
R | Number of runs conceded |
W | Number of wickets taken |
Result | Result of the match |
A total of 40 five-wicket hauls were taken in Test matches on the ground.
Ellis Park Stadium is a rugby union and association football stadium in Johannesburg, Gauteng Province, South Africa. It hosted the final of the 1995 Rugby World Cup, which was won by the country's national team, the Springboks. The stadium was the country's most modern when it was upgraded in 1982 to accommodate almost 60,000 people. Today, the stadium hosts both football and rugby and is also used as a venue for other large events, such as open-air concerts. It has become synonymous with rugby as the only time when rugby was not played at Ellis Park was during 1980 and 1981, when the stadium was under construction during the upgrade.
The New Zealand national cricket team toured South Africa from October 1961 to February 1962 and played a five-match Test series against the South Africa national cricket team. The series was drawn 2–2, with New Zealand's victory in the third Test the team's first Test match win outside their home country. New Zealand captain John Reid scored a total of 1,915 runs during the tour, setting a record for the most runs scored in South Africa by a touring batsman. The tour was the second to South Africa by a team from New Zealand, the previous tour having taken place in 1953–54.