England in five Test matches, all of them in South Africa: three in 1896 and two in 1899. Apart from his debut Test at St George's Oval, Port Elizabeth in February 1896, when England were led by Tim O'Brien, Hawke captained the team. He was always on the winning side. Although he was a successful Test captain, Hawke's contribution as an England batsman was modest. He scored only 55 runs in eight innings at an average of just 7.85 with a highest score of 30; and he held 3 catches. Administrative career Hawke's administrative career began in 1898 when, following the death of Michael Ellison, he was elected to succeed him as Yorkshire President and remained in office for forty years, in the first twelve of which he was also the Yorkshire team captain. He formed a successful liaison with Frederick Toone, who was club secretary from 1902 until his death in June 1930. Hawke praised Toone for increasing the membership from 3,000 in 1903 to over 7,000 ten years later. They worked together to further improve the terms and conditions of the professional players' contracts. To 1914, they were paid £5 for a home match and £6 for an away match with a £1 win bonus. Players who had received their county cap were obliged to join the Cricketers' Friendly Society and were paid the winter wage of £2 a week. In 1898, Hawke publicly criticised the England team selection system which was done by the appropriate ground authority ahead of the next Test match. Hawke advocated creation of a central selection committee and, soon afterwards, the MCC Committee agreed with his proposal. Hawke himself was appointed chairman of the inaugural selection panel in 1899, although he was still playing for Yorkshire. He held the post until he retired in 1909, incorporating five Test series. He was reappointed in 1933 and served for one year. In 1914, Hawke was appointed president of MCC, normally an annual position, but he was asked to remain in the post till the end of the First World War. As a result, Hawke was MCC president for five years from 1914 to 1918 inclusive and was succeeded in 1919 by the former Hampshire slow left-arm bowler Henry Forster, who shortly afterwards succeeded to the title of Lord Forster of Lepe. Throughout the war, Lord's was used for military purposes, including training and recreation. Problems