All Ten: The Ultimate Bowling Feat

38 George Giffen Australian XI v Combined XI, 1883/84 Association Ground, Sydney on 15, 16, 18 February 1884 (4-day match) Toss won by Australian XI Australian XI won by nine wickets Umpires: JW Fletcher, J Swift Australian XI 318 and 20-1; Combined XI 222 (GE Palmer 6-75) and 113 (G Giffen 10-66) Combined XI second innings *HH Massie c McDonnell b Giffen 29 TW Garrett c Scott b Giffen 3 SP Jones c and b Giffen 10 H Moses c sub (G Alexander) b Giffen 14 RC Allen c Palmer b Giffen 0 E Evans lbw b Giffen 2 +PM Lewis not out 19 AP Marr b Giffen 5 FR Spofforth c Bannerman b Giffen 14 T Powell b Giffen 3 T Nunn c Blackham b Giffen 0 Extras (b 9, nb 3, w 2) 14 Total (all out, 50 overs) 113 Fall of wickets 1-42, 2-42, 3-52, 4-52, 5-59, 6-80, 7-93, 8-107, 9-113, 10-113 Australian XI bowling: GE Palmer 16-8-27-0, G Giffen 26-16-66-10, HF Boyle 8-3-6-0 Australian XI: PS McDonnell, AC Bannerman, WL Murdoch (capt), G Giffen, GJ Bonnor, WE Midwinter, HJH Scott, JM Blackham (wk), GE Palmer, HF Boyle, WH Cooper George Giffen was well named Australia’s W.G.Grace. In a career lasting 25 years some of his performances outdid even those of the great Doctor. It is impossible to adequately describe his many achievements in a short chapter; however he is one of only five Australians to have scored 10,000 runs and taken 1,000 wickets (the other four had substantial county careers), and the only bowler to take 17 wickets in a match in Australia, to take 16 or more wickets in a match as many as five times, and to take 40 wickets over the course of five successive innings (for the Australians in 1886). Born in Adelaide in 1859 Giffen showed early promise and at 15 was allowed to bowl in the nets at W.G.Grace’s visiting England team. He played for Norwood, the strongest of the Adelaide premiership clubs. A muscular 5ft 11in he made his debut in South Australia’s inaugural first-class match against Tasmania in November 1877 bowling slow to medium off breaks from an eight-pace run-up, a style of bowling largely to fade from Test cricket by the beginning of the First World War. Cleverly varying flight and pace, he had a well disguised slower ball which probably accounted