South Africa's Second Test Series — Walter Read's Tour, March 1892

South African cricket dated to the 1850s but had been almost entirely localised. Major Warton's 1888-89 tour had played the first two Tests (Port Elizabeth and Cape Town); both were heavy English wins. Walter Read's 1891-92 tour was the second English visit and ran across most of the South African summer.

The party arrived in Cape Town in late November 1891 and played around the Cape, in Kimberley, Johannesburg and Pietermaritzburg. The Newlands Test was scheduled at the close.

Walter Read, the Surrey amateur who had captained England in two Tests in 1887-88, organised the 1891-92 tour privately on commercial lines. The party of 13 sailed for Cape Town in late November and played 20 first-class matches across the southern summer; only the final fixture, against an All-South-Africa XI at Newlands in mid-March 1892, was retrospectively given Test status by the ICC's later research.

South Africa won the toss and chose to bat. They were dismissed for 97 in 53 overs; John Ferris — born in Sydney, having played eight Tests for Australia, now qualified for England by residence — took 6 for 54. England replied with 369; wicketkeeper Henry Wood made 134 not out and was the only Englishman to score a Test century batting at number nine for several decades. South Africa, set 272 in their second innings, were dismissed for 83. Ferris took 7 for 37. England won by an innings and 189.

The match was the second instance of three brothers playing in the same Test — Frank Hearne for South Africa, Alec Hearne and George Hearne for England. It was also unusual in that both J.J. Ferris and W.L. Murdoch were making England Test debuts after previously playing for Australia.

“The Englishmen were too good for any South African combination then in existence.”

South Africa's next Test was the 1895-96 series against Lord Hawke's tour, when George Lohmann took 35 wickets at 5.80. They would not win a Test until 1905-06. The Walter Read tour was a financial near-failure; the proceeds barely covered expenses.