Fender was chosen in the MCC team to tour South Africa in 1922–23, but despite support from journalists, he was not chosen as captain. Frank Mann led the team; his appointment was criticised in the press, which judged him to lack playing ability and suggested that the selectors favoured those associated with Lord's—Mann was Middlesex captain. Mann appointed Fender his vice-captain on the journey to South Africa, but played every match on the tour to leave Fender with no opportunity to lead the side. England won the Test series 2–1, but Fender had some difficulties playing on the matting pitches used in South Africa, on which the ball bounced and turned in a different fashion from the turf on which cricket was played in England. He began in good batting form, scoring 96 in the first match, and he passed fifty on two other occasions, including an uncharacteristically defensive innings of 60 in the third Test, but his batting faded as the tour progressed. He was generally successful as a bowler, but proved expensive in the Tests. However, his best bowling performance according to his teammates came in the second Test, when he took four for 29 on the first day; all the South Africans found it difficult to bat against him, and he later described it as one of the best bowling spells of his career. He played in all five Tests, scoring 128 runs at an average of 14.22 and taking 10 wickets at 41.80, while in all first-class games, he scored 459 runs at 22.95 and took 58 wickets at 19.58.