Outside the Tests, there was just one more century for Melville, against his old colleagues at Sussex, with an unbeaten 114 in a total of 555 for six wickets. On the tour as a whole, he scored 1547 runs at an average of 40.71. Though the tour was not successful in terms of the Tests, Melville won praise for his captaincy and for his own performances, and was named a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in the 1948 edition of the "Almanack". However, the physical effect on him was significant, as "Wisden" noted: "The mental and physical exhaustion, indeed, took such toll of a never robust physique that on his return to South Africa Melville weighed 27 pounds less than when he set out." He announced his retirement from first-class cricket after a couple of matches for Transvaal in the winter that followed the tour.