'The 1901 controversy': South African cricket and the Anglo-Boer War, 1899-1902

With cricket already established in the colonies of Southern Africa, an intended tour to England during 1900 by a South African team was cancelled as a result of the outbreak of the Anglo-Boer War. Underestimating their opponents in the war and believing that the conflict would soon be won, the English cricket authorities requested that the tour be undertaken instead during 1901. Of course the war dragged on but the predominantly 'Uitlander' team did go, leaving Cape Town on what was to prove a testing, if somewhat ground-breaking tour. This paper will investigate the background to this tour, the controversy it created and the development of South African cricket during this time of war. Keywords: South African Journal for Research in Sport, Physical Education and Recreation Vol.25(2) 2003: 1-1