 In the 1938 – 39 season , Hammond captained the M.C.C. tour of South Africa in a five @-@ match series . Wisden criticised both sides for slow play , and the almanack 's correspondent felt Hammond was reluctant to try to force a win . In general , though , judgements on his captaincy were positive ; his team @-@ mates and opponents believed he had firm control of the side and E. W. Swanton complimented his tactics . In the Tests , he used the cautious batting method which had been successful in Australia . He scored three Test centuries , making 181 after a shaky start in the second Test , a quick 120 in the third and 140 in the fifth . England won the third match , the only one in the series with a result , and Hammond was praised for his use of bowlers . The final match , in which Hammond lost the toss , having previously won it eight consecutive times , was drawn after ten days ' play . In the fourth innings , England faced a victory target of 696 . Hammond was credited with nearly forcing a remarkable win , first by promoting Bill Edrich , who had failed thus far in the series but scored 219 , and then by playing himself what Wisden described as " one of the finest innings of his career " before rain forced the match to be abandoned . Hammond also tallied two fifties in the series to score 609 runs in total , at an average of 87 @.@ 00 . In all first @-@ class tour matches , he scored 1 @,@ 025 runs ( average 60 @.@ 29 ) . While on tour , he met Sybil Ness @-@ Harvey , who was to become his second wife . 
