David Sheppard his clerical career and declined to tour unless required as a captain. In 1956 he was recalled to play Australia and made 113 in the Fourth Test at Old Trafford, where Jim Laker famously took 19 wickets and England won by an innings. He refused to play against the touring South Africans in 1960, and was a vocal opponent of the proposed MCC tour in 1968–69 which was ultimately cancelled after the South African government refused to allow Basil D'Oliveira to play. Sheppard was willing to take a sabbatical from his church mission in the East End in order to
South African cricket team in England in 1901 South African cricket team in England in 1901 The South Africa national cricket team toured England between 16 May and 20 August 1901. They played 15 first-class cricket matches, and 10 other matches during their visit. Although a number of matches played by South Africa during the 1880s and 1890s were retrospectively granted Test cricket status, as the 1901 touring side did not play a representative England side, they did not compete in any Test matches. The South Africans were captained by Murray Bisset. The tour went ahead despite the ongoing Boer War, which suspended first-class cricket in South Africa