South African cricket team in England in 1951 South African cricket team in England in 1951 The South African cricket team toured England in the 1951 season to play a five-match Test series against England. England won the series 3-1 with 1 match drawn. The South African team was captained by Dudley Nourse, with Eric Rowan as vice-captain. The manager was Sid Pegler who had toured England as a player with the South African cricket team of 1912 and 1924. The full team was: Tayfield was not originally chosen, but joined the party in May when it was feared that Athol Rowan's health might not be up to
Ian Botham Geoffrey Boycott. England went into the match with a 1–0 series lead having won the second Test after the first had been drawn. The series was played against the background of the so-called "Packer Affair" which resulted in the establishment of World Series Cricket in the next Australian season. Because of Tony Greig's involvement, he had been stripped of the England captaincy but remained in the team under new captain Mike Brearley. England had three all-rounders at Trent Bridge with Greig, Geoff Miller and Botham all playing. Australian captain Greg Chappell won the toss and decided to bat first. Australia