Greatest Cricket Moments

Lohmann's 15 for 45 and Hat-Trick — South Africa All Out 30, 1896

1896-02-13South Africa v England1st Test, South Africa v England, Crusaders Ground, Port Elizabeth2 min readSeverity: Serious

Summary

Three weeks before the 9/28 at Old Wanderers, George Lohmann took 7 for 38 and 8 for 7 — match figures of 15 for 45 — at Port Elizabeth, dismissing South Africa for 30 in the second innings and ending the match with a hat-trick. The 30 all out remained the lowest Test innings total for sixty years; the 15/45 was then the best match analysis in Test cricket. The First Test of the 1895-96 series ran two days.

Background

South Africa's Test cricket dated to 1888-89 and had produced no overseas victory and few competitive innings. The 1895-96 series was their third Tests; Lohmann, recovering from tuberculosis, had joined Lord Hawke's tour party as a working holiday.

Build-Up

England 185; South Africa 93. England chose to bat again rather than enforce, partly to give Lohmann time on a deteriorating pitch and partly because of an unsettled bowling rotation.

What Happened

England, captained by Lord Hawke, won the toss at the Crusaders Ground (later St George's Park) and made 185. South Africa replied with 93; Lohmann 7 for 38 in 23.3 four-ball overs. England declined to enforce the follow-on and made 226 in their second innings, setting South Africa 319.

The second South African innings lasted 94 balls. Lohmann's spell ran 14.2-3-7-8 — five maidens, eight wickets, including the last three balls of the match for a hat-trick (Frank Hearne, Charles Vintcent and George Rowe). South Africa were 30 all out and lost by 288 runs. The total — 30 — would remain the lowest in Test cricket until New Zealand made 26 against England at Auckland in 1955.

Lohmann's match analysis of 15 for 45 was a Test record at the time and held until Wilfred Rhodes took 15/124 (different averages) in 1903; for sheer wickets-per-match it was passed only by Sydney Barnes (17 for 159, 1913-14) and matched in pure economy by Jim Laker (19/90, 1956).

Key Moments

1

England 185 first innings.

2

South Africa 93; Lohmann 7/38.

3

England 226 second innings; declared at no point.

4

South Africa set 319; collapse begins immediately.

5

Lohmann takes 8 wickets for 7 in 14.2 four-ball overs.

6

Hat-trick ends the match: Hearne, Vintcent, Rowe.

7

South Africa 30 all out — Test cricket's then-lowest total.

8

England win by 288; Lohmann 15/45 match figures.

Timeline

13 Feb 1896

England 185; South Africa 93 (Lohmann 7/38).

13 Feb, evening

England begin second innings instead of enforcing.

14 Feb

England 226; South Africa set 319.

14 Feb, afternoon

Lohmann 8/7 with hat-trick; South Africa 30 all out.

Notable Quotes

“On a difficult wicket Lohmann was as nearly unplayable as a bowler can be.”

— Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1897

Aftermath

Lohmann followed the 15/45 with 9/28 at Old Wanderers and 7/42 at Cape Town to finish the series with 35 wickets at 5.80. Within five years he was dead of tuberculosis, in Matjiesfontein, aged 36. The 1896 series remains his definitive monument.

⚖️ The Verdict

The most efficient Test bowling performance ever recorded against an organised side: 15 wickets at three runs each, including a match-ending hat-trick.

Legacy & Impact

South Africa's 30 all out held as the Test minimum for 59 years; New Zealand finally beat it in 1955 with 26. The 15/45 match figures held as the Test record until Sydney Barnes's 17/159 in 1913-14. Lohmann has no statue at St George's Park; a small framed scorecard hangs in the pavilion.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was South Africa's score?▾
30 all out in 94 balls — the lowest Test innings total at the time and for the next 59 years.
Was Lohmann's hat-trick the first in Test cricket?▾
It was the fourth Test hat-trick, after Spofforth (1879), Bates (1882-83) and Trumble (1894).
Why did England not enforce the follow-on?▾
Captain Lord Hawke wanted Lohmann to bowl on the wearing pitch later in the match; the decision was vindicated.

Tags

#george-lohmann#1896#south-africa#port-elizabeth#hat-trick#match-figures#england#surrey

Related Incidents

⭐Mild

Middlesex County Cricket Club Founded — Cricket Comes Home to Lord's, 1864

Middlesex cricket establishment

1864-02-02

Middlesex County Cricket Club was founded on 2 February 1864 at a meeting in London, the same year in which the MCC legalised overarm bowling and John Wisden published his first Almanack. It was one of several county clubs formally constituted in the busy years of 1863–65 as English cricket reorganised itself around a county structure that would eventually evolve into a formal championship.

#overarm-era#early-county-cricket#1860s
⭐Mild

Lancashire County Cricket Club Founded — Manchester's Game Gets Organised, 1864

Lancashire cricket establishment

1864-01-12

Lancashire County Cricket Club was formally constituted at a meeting in Manchester on 12 January 1864, giving England's most cricket-passionate industrial county a formal organisational structure to match the grassroots enthusiasm that had been filling grounds at Old Trafford and elsewhere for decades. Lancashire, alongside Yorkshire, represented the great northern cricket public that William Clarke's All-England Eleven had first mobilised commercially in the 1840s.

#overarm-era#early-county-cricket#1860s
⭐Mild

V.E. Walker Takes All Ten — Every Wicket at Lord's, Middlesex v Lancashire, 1865

Middlesex vs Lancashire

1865-07-26

Vyell Edward Walker of Middlesex took all ten wickets in a Lancashire innings at Lord's on 26 July 1865 — one of the earliest documented instances of a bowler taking all ten in a first-class match. Walker, a medium-pace round-arm bowler who also captained Middlesex, achieved the feat without assistance from any other bowler, delivering one of the most complete individual bowling performances of the Victorian era.

#overarm-era#early-county-cricket#1860s