George Rowe (cricketer)

George Alexander Rowe (15 June 1874 – 8 January 1950) was a South African cricketer.

One of the earliest successful South African bowlers, George Rowe was born in Grahamstown, South Africa on 15 June 1874. Playing for Western Province during the early years of the Currie Cup, he made his first class debut against Natal in 1893/94 in the final of the competition, and played his last match for the province in 1907. He was a slow left-arm orthodox bowler and claimed five wickets in an innings on thirteen occasions, converting five of them into ten-wicket match hauls. He first made his mark on South Africa’s non-first-class tour of England in 1894 where he was the pick of the bowlers in a wet summer, taking 136 wickets at 12.87 apiece.

The South African team that toured England in 1894. George Rowe is in front on the ground, on the left.

When Lord Hawke brought England to the continent in 1895/96, Rowe was selected for the 2nd and 3rd Test matches of the series. In the first of these, played at the Old Wanderers Ground, at Johannesburg, not only did he bowl T.C. O’Brien with his second ball in Tests, he also distinguished himself with 5 wickets for 115 runs in England’s only innings.[1] Lord Hawke and England returned in 1898/99 and Rowe played in both Tests, taking a total of 7 for 186 as the visitors won the series. Back in England with South Africa in 1901, he again shone, taking 136 wickets in all first-class matches at an average of 18.54. On the way home from England in 1902, Australia stopped off at the Cape and played half-a-dozen matches during October and November. Rowe was selected for one of the three Test matches but did little of note in a drawn game played at Johannesburg. His best innings analysis was 8 for 25 (11 for 50 in the match) claimed at the expense of South-West Districts at Mossel Bay in 1904/05. And his best match figures were 13 for 155 against Cambridge University at Fenner's on the 1901 tour. He was nothing much of note as a batsman, playing as he always did in the "tail".

He died near Cape Town, South Africa on 8 January 1950, aged 75. No obituary appeared in Wisden.