New Zealand cricket team in South Africa in 1961–62

captained the New Zealand team on the tour The New Zealand team was captained by John Reid with Murray Chapple as the vice-captain. Reid was by far the most experienced member of the team with 34 Test caps; other than Noel McGregor with 15, no other member of the team had more than 10 caps to their name and eight players on the tour had not made their Test debut. Six of these went on to play in the Test matches on the tour, with only John Ward and Bryan Yuile not playing in any of the Tests. New Zealand's outstanding post-war batsman, Bert Sutcliffe, had retired from Test cricket and was not available for the tour, Experienced players Bob Blair and Alex Moir were not selected for the tour. The team was the last from New Zealand to visit apartheid-era South Africa; the next New Zealand team to tour the country did so in 1994/95, after the end of the sporting boycott of South Africa. ==Tour itinerary==

The tour took place between October 1961 and March 1962. The New Zealanders travelled to and from South Africa via Australia. They played a first-class match against Western Australia on the outward leg of their journey and matches against South Australia and New South Wales on the return journey, the only matches played in March. A total of 21 matches were played in South Africa during the tour, including the five Test matches, as well as three played in Rhodesia. Eleven matches, seven of which were first-class, were played during the period between October and December, before the first Test match. These included three matches, two of which were first-class, in Rhodesia. Another eight matches, six of which were first-class, were played between the Test matches, including five in January 1962 between the third and fourth Tests. ==Test series==

scored a century in the first Test to lead the home team to victory. All of the Test matches during the tour were four-day matches. Each team won two of the five matches with one drawn Test, leaving the series drawn. After a rest day on Sunday 10 December, South Africa resumed their second innings. When Bland was fourth man out with the score on 110 they appeared well placed to build a big lead, but collapsed in less than an hour to be all out for 149, leaving New Zealand to score 197 runs with more than a days play remaining. They failed to reach their target and were all out for 166 after what Wisden called "rank bad batting", with South Africa winning the match by just 30 runs. Peter Pollock, on his Test debut aged 20, took a five-wicket haul with six wickets for a cost of 38 runs in the innings and nine wickets in the match. McGlew declared South Africa's second innings at 178/6, leaving New Zealand with a target of 278 runs in around four hours play. They reached 165 runs for the loss of four wickets and the match was drawn, with Wisden lamenting the loss of time to rain on the first day. Dowling scored a second half century, with John Reid top scoring with 75 not out. Buster Farrer also made his debut for South Africa in the match. In reply South Africa were bowled out for 190 runs, Cameron taking a five-wicket haul. Reid did not enforce the follow on and New Zealand scored 212 runs before declaring with nine wickets down, Burke taking another five wickets for 11 on debut. Reid won the toss again and opted to bat, but New Zealand were dismissed for 164 runs in their first innings, with Godfrey Lawrence taking another five-wicket haul at Wanderers. Only Reid, who played a "glorious innings" for 60, scored more than 22 runs. Facing a deficit of over 300, New Zealand lost both opening batsmen for ducks and were all out for 249. Reid again dominated the innings, scoring 142, but his team lost by an innings and 51 runs with a full day to play. The New Zealanders scored 275 runs, with Paul Barton top-scoring with 109, scoring his only Test century in an innings Wisden described as "composed, correct and polished". In reply South Africa scored 190, with opening batsman McGlew, playing in his final Test, suffering from an injured shoulder and not batting until ninth in the batting order as a result. New Zealand were then bowled out for 228 runs in their second innings, leaving South Africa requiring 314 to win the match. The second South African innings was in trouble at 199 for the loss of eight wickets, until a ninth wicket stand of 60 runs brought them to within 60 runs of the target. They lost their final two wickets, the last falling with only 21 minutes of play remaining in the match. to leave New Zealand the winners by 40 runs, levelling the series at 2 wins apiece. Waite took two more dismissals to take his total for the Test matches to 26, at the time the most by a wicket-keeper in a five-match Test series. New Zealand's wicket-keeper Artie Dick took five dismissals during the match, leaving him with a total of 23 for the series, equalling the previous record. ==Other matches==

The New Zealanders played 22 other matches during the tour. Three of these were played in Australia, one on the outward leg of the journey and two on the return. In total, 16 matches of these matches were considered first-class, including all three matches played in Australia. They then travelled back to South Africa and played eight matches before the first Test. Five of these matches were first-class. After returning from Rhodesia, the New Zealanders played eight matches before the first Test match in early December. Mid tour matches Between the first and second Tests, the New Zealanders played first-class matches in Pretoria and Benoni. The second and third Tests were played over the Christmas and New Year period without any intervening fixtures, and were followed by five fixtures, three of which were first-class, before the fourth Test. A single first-class match was played in East London between the fourth and fifth Tests. The second Test started on 26 December and the third on 1 January after which the New Zealanders played five more matches before the fourth Test match. After the fourth Test match, which was scheduled to be played between 2–6 February, the New Zealanders played one first-class match against Border before the final Test match began on 16 February. Return journey After leaving South Africa after the final Test at the end of February, the New Zealanders played two first-class matches against Australian teams on the return journey. Immediately after arriving back in New Zealand, a further first-class match was played against a Commonwealth XI. The New Zealand team featured exclusively players from the touring team. ==Notes==