Funny Incidents

The Wettest English Summer Since 1766 — Weather Wrecks the 1912 Triangular

1912-08-31England, Australia, South Africa1912 Triangular Tournament weather conditions1 min readSeverity: Moderate

Summary

The 1912 Triangular Tournament was played in the wettest English summer since records began in 1766. August 1912 was the coldest, dullest and wettest August of the entire 20th century. With pitches uncovered and Tests three days long, much of the tournament was a sodden farce.

Background

English summers of the early 1910s were generally wet, but 1912 was an outlier even within that pattern.

Build-Up

The tournament had been planned for the dry months. The Big Six dispute was the political problem; the rain was the practical one.

What Happened

The British weather of summer 1912 was extraordinary. Rainfall in May, June, July and August was well above average; August in particular was record-breaking for cold and wet across most of England. The Triangular Tournament was scheduled across this period. Pitches in 1912 were uncovered both before and during matches; rain meant the surfaces were either washed out altogether or playing 'sticky' — almost unplayable on the first morning of any new innings. The Manchester Test between England and Australia was effectively rained off. The Lord's Test between Australia and South Africa lost much of two days. Crowds, never large for South Africa's matches, almost vanished when the weather turned. Wisden's 1913 retrospective was unusually blunt: 'The weather did its worst to ruin the matches, and to a large extent succeeded.' The tournament's reputation as a flop was as much meteorological as political.

Key Moments

1

May-Jul 1912: Above-average rainfall throughout

2

Aug 1912: Coldest, dullest, wettest of the century

3

Manchester Test rained off

4

Lord's Test loses days

5

Crowds collapse

Timeline

May 1912

Tournament begins; rain already disruptive

Jul 1912

Manchester Test ruined

Aug 1912

Record-cold, record-wet month; tournament limps to its end

Notable Quotes

“The weather did its worst to ruin the matches, and to a large extent succeeded.”

— Wisden Almanack 1913

Aftermath

Financial losses on the tournament were substantial. The MCC blamed the weather as much as the Big Six absences in its post-tournament report.

⚖️ The Verdict

Weather as a co-author of the Triangular Tournament's failure.

Legacy & Impact

The 1912 weather disaster is the most-cited example in English cricket histories of how meteorology can sink even the best-laid administrative plans.

Frequently Asked Questions

How wet was the 1912 summer?▾
August 1912 was the coldest, dullest and wettest August of the 20th century in much of England.
Were pitches covered?▾
No — pre-war pitches were uncovered before and during matches.

Tags

#triangular-1912#weather#rain#england#1912#wisden#uncovered-pitches

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