All so-called Tests in South Africa were on matting until the 1930-31 series against England. The first and fourth matches of that series at the Old Wanderers were on matting, with the other three, at Cape Town and Durban, on grass. 41 games in total, with the hosts winning 11 and losing 22.
Matting pitches offered abnormal bounce and lateral movement, requiring technical adjustments from batsmen and bowlers. Herbie Taylor, with a technique similar to Hobbs, was the master on them, scoring 1787 Test runs at 48 with five hundreds. Hobbs himself was the most successful visiting batsman with 982 runs at 65.
The most effective bowlers tended to be medium-pacers. Barnes' feats are well-known. Lohmann and spinner Briggs also returned remarkable figures, but against opponents below first-class standard. Jimmy Blanckenberg (56 wickets @ 25) and Buster Nupen (47 @ 32) were South African specialists on the mat, as was left-armer Alf Hall (40 @ 22). Wrist-spinners Vogler and Faulkner were formidable on those surfaces, and fast bowler Jimmy Sinclair took 51 wickets.
Pakistan's first home matches (1955-59) were on matting. The second Test of the 1959 series against Australia was played on newly laid turf at Lahore, before the final match reverted to matting. All subsequent matches were on grass. Of 14 Tests on matting, Pakistan won five and lost two, against West Indies and Australia. Their leading run-scorers were Hanif (774 runs @ 43 with four hundreds), Imtiaz (655 @ 28) and Waqar Hasan (550 @ 36). Rohan Kanhai hit the highest score, 217, on the mat. Sobers averaged 32. Umrigar and Manjrekar did well for India.
Fazal was a great bowler on matting pitches (65 wickets @ 16), ably supported by Khan Mohammad (42 @ 15). Leading visiting wicket-takers were leg-spinners Gupte (21 @ 22) and Benaud (15 @ 19), and Wes Hall (16 @ 17).
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