South African cricket team in England in 1947 a total of 21 players to represent them in the series. Five players took part in all five Test matches: captain Norman Yardley; batsmen Len Hutton, Cyril Washbrook and Denis Compton; and wicket-keeper Godfrey Evans. South African cricket team in England in 1947 The South African cricket team toured England in the 1947 season to play a five-match Test series against England. The team was captained by Alan Melville with Dudley Nourse as his vice-captain (v/c). England won the series with three wins and two matches drawn. This was the second Test series hosted by England since the end of
Tony Greig for a top order batsman. The West Indian bowlers managed to hit Greig's stumps often. Apart from a formidable performance in the fourth Test at Leeds, where he fought back with 116 and 76 not out and shared a big partnership with keeper Alan Knott, Greig scored just 51 runs in seven innings. Worse, his bowling lost penetration and he took only five wickets as England slumped to a 0–3 loss. However, Greig did not lose his sense of humour: playing on his "grovel" comment, he pretended to crawl on his hands and knees in front of the open stands