The Champion Bat Tournament was a

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

tournament played in the late 1800s in present-day

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. Rather than a cup, the winner of the tournament was presented with the "Champion Bat" – a

cricket bat A cricket bat is a specialised piece of equipment used by batters in the sport of cricket to hit the ball, typically consisting of a cane handle attached to a flat-fronted willow-wood blade. It may also be used by a batter who is making batte ...

emblazoned with a silver crest. Contested approximately every three to four years, it was first held in 1876 in

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipal ...

, between teams representing the major settlements of the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...

. Although the exact composition varied, the town-based format continued until the tournament's final edition during the 1890–91 season, which was played between Eastern Province,

Griqualand West Griqualand West is an area of central South Africa with an area of 40,000 km2 that now forms part of the Northern Cape Province. It was inhabited by the Griqua people – a semi-nomadic, Afrikaans-speaking nation of mixed-race origin, w ...

, and Western Province (teams which still compete in South African domestic cricket). The tournament was played five times before being superseded by the

Currie Cup The Currie Cup () is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier domestic competition, four South African franc ...

as the premier South African cricket tournament. Only the last edition of the Champion Bat was accorded first-class status.

1875–76 tournament

The inaugural tournament was played in

from 6–12 January 1876, with the tournament's prize, the Champion Bat, donated by the town's mayor, Henry William Pearson (later an MP), on behalf of the Port Elizabeth Town Council.Tournaments / The Champion Bat
– St George's Park History. Retrieved 27 December 2014. Four teams competed in the 1876 tournament, representing

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

Grahamstown Makhanda, formerly known as Grahamstown, is a town of about 75,000 people in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated about northeast of Gqeberha and southwest of East London. It is the largest town in the Makana Local Mun ...

King William's Town Qonce, formerly King William's Town, is a town in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa along the banks of the Buffalo River (Eastern Cape), Buffalo River. The town is about northwest of the Indian Ocean port of East London, South Africa, ...

, and Port Elizabeth, with all matches played at St George's Park. Matches were played over two innings, invariably lasting only one day each owing to their low-scoring nature. Each team was to play each other once (a "round-robin"), for a total of six matches: * 6 January 1876: Grahamstown defeats Port Elizabeth by 47 runs, with Grahamstown's A. Edkins taking a ten-wicket haul, 5/11 in each innings. * 7 January 1876: King William's Town defeats Grahamstown by six wickets, with Edkins taking another ten-wicket haul, 8/32 and 2/49. William Heugh took 7/34 in Grahamstown first innings. * 8 January 1876: King William's Town defeats Port Elizabeth by three wickets. * 10 January 1876: Cape Town defeats Port Elizabeth by three wickets, with Cape Town's Melck taking a ten-wicket haul, 5/16 and 7/24. * 11 January 1876: King William's Town defeats Cape Town by four wickets, with Melck taking another ten-wicket haul, 6/19 and 4/13. * 12 January 1876: Cape Town versus Grahamstown – fixtured, but no scorecard recorded by CricketArchive. As the Grahamstown team had won all three of its matches, its captain was presented with the Champion Bat, to be held until the next tournament. A celebratory dinner and ball were held at the Port Elizabeth City Hall, on 8 and 12 January, respectively.

1879–80 tournament

The second tournament was held in King William's Town from 14 to 22 January 1880, and included a team from Queenstown for the first time. A final was played, with King William's Town easily defeating Port Elizabeth to win the tournament for the first time.

1884–85 tournament

The third tournament was held in Port Elizabeth for a second time, from 22 to 31 December 1884. The tournament was reduced to four teams, with the teams from Grahamstown and Queenstown replaced by a team from the far inland town of

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia Queensland * Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas South Australia * County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia Ta ...

, in

, newly annexed to the Cape Colony. Port Elizabeth won the tournament for the first time.

1887–88 tournament

The fourth tournament was held at Grahamstown's Albany Sports Club from 26 December 1887 to 3 January 1888. Cape Town was replaced by Grahamstown, the host. Kimberley won the tournament for the first time.

1890–91 tournament and aftermath

The fifth and final tournament was held at Cape Town's

Newlands Newlands may refer to: Places Australia * Newlands, Queensland, a locality in the Whitsunday Region * Newlands, Western Australia, a town in the Shire of Donnybrook–Balingup Ireland * Newlands Cross, Dublin, named after the former Newlands ...

ground from 26 December 1890 to 3 January 1891. Eastern Province, Griqualand West, and Western Province fielded sides, and the three matches played were accorded first-class status.Champion Bat Tournament 1890/91
– CricketArchive. Retrieved 12 April 2024.

References

{{reflist, 30em South African domestic cricket competitions Recurring sporting events established in 1876 1876 establishments in the Cape Colony 1891 disestablishments Sports competitions in Cape Town Sport in Gqeberha First-class cricket competitions