Famous Cricketers No 59 - Aubrey Faulkner

4/89 and 2/75; Fourth Test - 10 and 49 not out, and 1/61 and 3/40; Fifth Test - 10 and 99, and 3/72. All this added up to 545 runs at 60.55 and 29 wickets at 21.89 - more runs than any other player on either side and second to Ernie Vogler as a wicket-taker. In addition, he scored 46 and 148 not out and took 4/49 and 5/34 when Transvaal beat the MCC by 308 runs, but made only 9 in a rain-ruined return match. These efforts gave him figures of 748 runs (68.00) and 38 wickets (18.89) against the Englishmen - a superb performance. The South Africans experienced conditions completely foreign to them when touring Australia in 1910/11. The hard, fast pitches, which became batsmen’s nightmares after rain, demanded changes in techniques which had been developed on the matting surfaces at home. However, Faulkner overcame the challenge in spectacular manner. In 14 first-class matches on the tour he scored 1534 runs at an average of 59.00, and captured 49 wickets at 25.59. In addition, he made a further 546 runs in minor matches, with a top score of 252 not out against Barrier District at Broken Hill, and took a further eleven wickets. His aggregate in first-class matches was at the time the highest by anyone in an Australian season, and remains the third best by a visiting player. Faulkner’s greatest triumphs were in the Tests where he made 732 runs at 73.20. This was a remarkable achievement for a batsman in a side which was beaten 4-1 in the series, and constituted a record aggregate for a batsman in any series until beaten by two runs by Herbert Sutcliffe against Australia in 1924-25. No South African has exceeded this figure. He scored 62 and 43 in the First Test, 204 and eight in the Second, 56 and 115 in the Third, 20 and 80 in the Fourth, and 52 and 92 in the Fifth. His 204, scored in 315 minutes, in Melbourne was the first double century by a Springbok in a Test and the record score for South Africa until beaten by Dudley Nourse in 1935/36. It remains unsurpassed by a South African in a Test in Australia. He proved ineffective with the ball in the Tests, and managed only ten wickets at 51.40. However, he bowled superbly to take 5/32 and 5/106 against Queensland, and 4/55 and 7/26 (his career-best) against Victoria. His performance against Queensland in scoring 54 and 73 as well as taking five wickets in each innings, remains the only occasion on which a South African has scored two half-centuries and taken five wickets in both innings of a match. Soon after his return from Australia, Faulkner married and immediately left for England with his bride, planning to play County cricket as an amateur. However, he settled in Nottingham and limited his appearances to club cricket and representing the Nottinghamshire Amateur XI and the Nottinghamshire Ramblers run by Sir Julien Cahn. Unfortunately for South African cricket, Faulkner was never again to play in his native land. In 1911 he represented the Gentlemen against the Players at Scarborough where he scored 84 not out in the second innings, and also turned out for Lord Londesborough’s XI against the MCC team which was shortly to leave for Australia, taking 4/36. Faulkner made himself available for South Africa for the 1912 tour to the United Kingdom, which included the Triangular Tournament of Test matches played between England, Australia and South Africa. In all first-class matches he scored 1075 runs (23.88) and captured 163 wickets (15.42) to become the first, and only, South African to achieve the double on a tour of England. Along with most of his team-mates, Faulkner experienced a hard time in the six Tests - five of which were lost. Although he started in great form with an undefeated 122 against Australia at Old Trafford, he managed only 72 runs in his other ten innings. However, he bowled superbly at The Oval in the Third Test against England to take 7/84, and finished the tournament with 17 wickets at 26.70. His best performances outside the Tests were a score of 145 not out against Scotland and career-best match figures of 11/59 against Leicestershire. In the opening first-class match of the season Faulkner turned out for MCC against Nottinghamshire and hit a brilliant 131. The following summer he scored 101 and took 5/68 for the Gentlemen against the Players in Scarborough, and also appeared for MCC, Lord Londesborough’s XI and an England XI. His sole outing in 1914 was for H.D.G.Leveson Gower’s XI against Oxford University, when he made 70 and took 2/29 and 5/51. 4