Old Wanderers

Old Wanderers c.1893

The wealthy elite of the town saw a need for a sports ground for the public in the new town of Johannesburg. Around 1888 a deputation consisting of Hermann Eckstein, J.B. Taylor, Jacob Swart, Llewellyn Andersson and others rode to Pretoria to meet with President Paul Kruger.[2]^: 647 He was shown a piece of land of 40 acres west of Joubert Park, but as the land was to be surveyed and sold as leasehold stands, he was concerned about the loss of income to the South African Republic.[2]^: 647 A compromise was reached and 31 acres was set aside for a sporting ground with a 99-year lease and 25 pounds a year.[2]^: 647[2]^: 115 The ground was first called Kruger's Park but was later renamed Wanderers Club, with Hermann Eckstein and its first chairman and J.B. Taylor as its vice-chairman.[2]^: 115 When not used by the club, the grounds would be used as a public venue.[2]^: 115 It was the venue for the Witwatersrand's first horse show, gymkhana and dog show in May 1891 and with a cycle track around the cricket ground people saw future world cycle champion Laurens Meintjes race.[2]^: 148 And in November 1894, the Witwatersrand Agricultural Society would hold its first show at the Wanderers ground before moving it to Braamfontein where it would be later known as the Rand Show.[2]^: 148 The grounds would host its first cricket test match on 2 March 1896 when South Africa played England.[3]

The South African sports journalist E. W. Ballantine described the playing surface as it was at the time of the Test match against the touring Australians in 1902:

The ground is a bare tract of land, dark red in colour, and in the centre of the Oval a green patch of cocoanut matting, 8ft. wide, is stretched and nailed down, each end about 6in. from the popping crease and outside it. The surface of the ground is hard, and consequently there is a tendency for the bowling to rise considerably. The fielding is generally true, notwithstanding that the presence of a few small pebbles would occasionally give the ball a little bit of hop. On a hot day the ground is naturally trying to the feet, while the dust, which is always more or less prevalent, has the effect of parching the players' throats ...[4]

By the late 1920s, the station passenger numbers south of the Wanderers grounds had outgrown its facilities. The new station would need additional land which was only available to the north and which was part of the Old Wanderers ground.[2]^: 350 There was opposition to the idea by the people of Johannesburg when a 100 ft strip of the Wanderers ground was proposed with the South African Railways offering £31,000 and the club wanting the amount doubled.[2]^: 350 The land was lost to the railways with the final amount settled on was £35,000[2]^: 350

In 1936, the club purchased 200 acres in Illovo and established a golf course called Kent Park, name after its chairman Victor Kent.[2]^: 381 This would later become the venue for the new Wanderers Stadium cricket ground.

By 1945, the Johannesburg Park Station had reached a capacity of 130,000 passengers a day and there was a need to expand the station's infrastructure with a new station, administrative buildings and a newer bridge over the railway lines and so the ideal land for the project was the Wanderers ground.[2]^: 381 Transport Minister F.C. Sturrock would attempt to sell the project to the public while it was countered by the Wanderers Club and Johannesburg Publicity Association, representing about fifty other bodies.[2]^: 381

The South African government would expropriate the Wanderers ground and after a legal appeal by those who disagreed, on 30 March 1946, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court upheld the governments decision.[2]^: 381 The Government would pay the Wanderers Club £500,000 in compensation and the Johannesburg Council £1,000,000 in the form of land at Plein Square, Kaserne and a small amount of land in Braamfontein and offset £300,000 owed by the council.[2]^: 382

The highest Test innings recorded at the ground was South Africa's 491 in their 2nd innings in the drawn 2nd Test against Australia in 1935/36,Full Scorecard of South Africa vs Australia 2nd Test 1935 - Score Report | ESPNcricinfo.com and the lowest was South Africa's 85 in their 2nd innings in the 2nd Test in 1902/03, on the way to losing to Australia by 159 runs (Jack Saunders taking 7/34). Full Scorecard of South Africa vs Australia 2nd Test 1902 - Score Report | ESPNcricinfo.com The ground saw 29 Test centuries, including double centuries for South African Dudley Nourse (231) in the drawn 2nd Test against Australia in 1934/35 Full Scorecard of South Africa vs Australia 2nd Test 1935 - Score Report | ESPNcricinfo.com and Australian captain and opening batsman Herbie Collins (203) in the drawn 2nd Test in 1921/22 (only his 10th Test match, and his 2nd as captain). Full Scorecard of South Africa vs Australia 2nd Test 1921 - Score Report | ESPNcricinfo.com

George Lohmann's 9/28 at Old Wanderers in the 2nd Test in 1896 was for six decades the best bowling figures in Test cricket, leading to a victory for England by an innings and 197 runs. Full Scorecard of South Africa vs England 2nd Test 1896 - Score Report | ESPNcricinfo.com The best bowling analysis for a Test match at the ground was Sydney Barnes's 17/159 for England in the 2nd Test in 1913/14 (8/56 and 9/103) in a victory by England by an innings and 12 runs.Full Scorecard of South Africa vs England 2nd Test 1913 - Score Report | ESPNcricinfo.com. The only other bowler to take 8 wickets in an innings at Old Wanderers was Tip Snooke in the 3rd Test against England (and only his third Test match) in 1905/06. Full Scorecard of South Africa vs England 3rd Test 1906 - Score Report | ESPNcricinfo.com

A railways-related test match record at Old Wanderers occurred when South African batsman Jimmy Sinclair hit the ball for six. It landed in a train standing at one of the platforms at the adjacent old Johannesburg station and was only discovered two days later in Cape Town. At approximately 956 miles, it must rate as the biggest six ever struck.[5]

From 1895 to 1939, twenty nine Test centuries have been scored.[6]

No.	Score	Player	Team	Balls	Opposing team	Date	Result
1	122	Tom Hayward	England	NA	South Africa	2 March 1896	Won
2	132*	Pelham Warner	England	NA	South Africa	14 February 1899	Won
3	142	Clem Hill	Australia	NA	South Africa	11 October 1902	Drawn
4	101	Jimmy Sinclair	South Africa	NA	Australia	18 October 1902	Drawn
5	159*	Warwick Armstrong	Australia	NA	South Africa	18 October 1902	Drawn
6	102	Maitland Hathorn	South Africa	NA	England	10 March 1906	Won
7	143	Frederick Fane	England	NA	South Africa	10 March 1906	Lost
8	147	Gordon White	South Africa	NA	England	10 March 1906	Won
9	123	Aubrey Faulkner	South Africa	NA	England	1 January 1910	Won
10	104	Lucky Denton	England	NA	South Africa	26 February 1910	Won
11	152	Wilfred Rhodes	England	NA	South Africa	26 February 1913	Won
12	102	Phil Mead	England	NA	South Africa	26 February 1913	Won
13	203	Herbie Collins	Australia	NA	South Africa	12 November 1921	Drawn
14	119	Jack Gregory	Australia	NA	South Africa	12 November 1921	Drawn
15	152	Charlie Frank	South Africa	NA	Australia	12 November 1921	Drawn
16	111	Dave Nourse	South Africa	NA	Australia	12 November 1921	Drawn
17	176	Herbie Taylor (1/3)	South Africa	NA	England	23 December 1922	Won
18	115	Frank Woolley	England	NA	South Africa	9 February 1923	Drawn
19	101	Herbie Taylor (2/3)	England	NA	South Africa	9 February 1923	Drawn
20	102	Herbert Sutcliffe	England	NA	South Africa	24 December 1927	Won
21	122	Ernest Tyldesley	England	NA	South Africa	24 December 1927	Won
22	101	Herbie Taylor (3/3)	South Africa	NA	England	28 January 1928	Won
23	231	Dudley Nourse	South Africa	NA	Australia	24 December 1935	Drawn
24	189	Stan McCabe	Australia	NA	South Africa	24 December 1935	Drawn
25	108	Jack Fingleton	Australia	NA	South Africa	15 February 1936	Won
26	117	Eddie Paynter (1/2)	England	NA	South Africa	24 December 1938	Drawn
27	102	Eric Dalton	South Africa	NA	England	24 December 1938	Drawn
28	106	Paul Gibb	England	NA	South Africa	24 December 1938	Drawn
29	100	Eddie Paynter (2/2)	England	NA	South Africa	24 December 1938	Drawn

A total of 40 Test match five-wicket hauls were taken on the ground.

• List of Test cricket grounds

• Ground profile from Cricinfo

26.197720°S 28.040659°E / -26.197720; 28.040659