You know summer is here again when you hear the sound of bat on ball around Nelson Mandela Bay. With the Proteas currently in town playing India and the Eastern Cape Sun Risers about to start their defence of the SA20 title, St George’s Park is again the focus of our attentions.
This famous old stadium has a long and illustrious history. The first cricket Test match was played here in March 1889 when England defeated SA by 8 wickets. As this was SA’s first-ever Test match, St George’s Park has the honour of being the oldest international ground in SA.
Cricket’s development on the African continent began though some years earlier, with the arrival of the British military between 1795 and 1802. Colonialism delivered British culture to SA and it was not long before cricket was being played.
British soldiers stationed in the Cape were reportedly playing cricket in 1806, while two years later the first known reference to an ‘official’ cricket match being played in SA appeared in the Cape Town Gazette and African Advertiser.
However, it was later in the century that the game started to spread elsewhere with the arrival of significant numbers of British settlers to SA. Port Elizabeth, again leading the way, was home to the first organised cricket club in 1843, and this was followed a year later by a club at Wynberg in the Cape.
To the north, the first ‘rush’ on the diamond fields brought cricket to the Kimberley region, with the Orange Free State forming its first cricket club in Bloemfontein in 1855. The first Transvaal club opened in 1863
A few months after the Port Elizabeth Cricket Club (PECC) was established in 1859, the Port Elizabeth town council agreed to lease two acres of land to the club. The barren piece of veld was cleared by the members who also paid for the ground's upkeep.
Thus the Port Elizabeth Cricket Club was founded, becoming the oldest cricket club in the country still playing from the same venue today.
Shortly after the cricket ground was laid out, the Town Council decided to establish St George's Park, enclosing a huge tract of land with sufficient space for various other pastimes, the Knickerbockers (later the Union Cricket Club) leased some adjacent land, along with several other sports, such as tennis (1878), athletics (1881), lawn bowls (1882) and rugby (1887).
All found a home at St George's Park with Crusaders Rugby Club and PECC sharing their turf during winter and summer respectively.
Only once fencing had been introduced around the field in 1864, did the town council give PECC permission to charge an admission fee. And even then, it was just sixpence “and not more than once a fortnight”. It was all part of the Port Elizabeth town council's aim to promote the game. They even
donated The Champion Bat in 1876, the forerunner to today's Currie Cup (CSA 4-Day Domestic) competition.
The famous bat, which was competed for by “the cricketers of the Cape Colony” — Cape Town, Grahamstown, King Williams Town and Port Elizabeth — can still be viewed at the PECC.
In the past, St George's Park has played host to it all. It's even laid out the red carpet to royalty. A young Queen Elizabeth was among them in 1947.
And for lovers of the oval ball game, did you know that the first international rugby match in Port Elizabeth was also played at St George’s on July 30, 1891, between SA and England?
Even as far back as 1867, a band performed to entertain the crowds. In those days it was a military band. Today there is an up-beat brass band of young performers, who typify the rich “rainbow” cricket traditions of the Eastern Cape. Long may it continue.
Enjoy St George’s. Enjoy your summer.
Dr Dean Allen is a best-selling author and keynote speaker.
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