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<blockquote data-quote="NZL Fan" data-source="post: 90473"><p>RIP - Geoff Griffin - 67 - died on 16th November.</p><p></p><p>WHO you may well ask?? Griffin was a South African cricketer who played two tests in 1960. So what? Well two points of interest.</p><p></p><p>1. Griffin was the first South African to snare a hat trick in a test match.</p><p></p><p>2. In the same game he was called for "chucking" on 11 seperate occasions, thus ending his promising career (unlike for some other chuckers I could mention.......).</p><p></p><p>This from cricinfo:</p><p></p><p><em>Griffin's inclusion in South Africa's 1960 squad to tour England was controversial in itself. The vexed subject of illegal actions was high on the agenda - Ian Meckiff, Graham Rorke and Charlie Griffith were all under the spotlight - and Griffin had been called in domestic matches the previous winter. But tall, blond and fast, he headed the national averages in his second season with 35 wickets at 12.23 for Natal and could not be overlooked. <strong>He also suffered from a physical defect, having been handicapped by an accident when a schoolboy which left him unable to straighten his right arm fully..</strong> </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>No tourist had been called for throwing in England up to then, but in the South Africans' early matches Griffin's bowling attracted muttering among the media. Ian Peebles, who sat side-on in the game against Essex, wrote that he was much perturbed by what he saw and that "there was something amiss." At Lord's in May, against MCC, Griffin was no-balled for throwing (in one instance he was called for throwing and dragging) and the genie was out of the bottle. At Trent Bridge a few days later Griffin was again called. </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>The affable Griffin retreated to the internationally famous Alf Gover Indoor School in south-west London, where a three-day coaching session appeared to have ironed out the problem. Although Gover did his best, he later admitted that the arm was unquestionably bent. </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Griffin played in the first Test at Edgbaston, where there were again mumblings but no action. He cut down his speed, but his penetrativeness went with it. The only time he really opened up, late on the first day, the old problems appeared to return. At Southampton a week later, he was once again no-balled. It was to general surprise that he was named in the XI for the Lord's Test. </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>What followed was a match of mixed fortunes for Griffin. On the plus side, he became the first South African to take a hat-trick in a Test. But that was scant consolation for the events that ended his Test career. </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>In the third over of England's innings Griffin was no-balled by Frank Lee, who was standing at square leg, and after a break for rain, he was called again by Lee. Onlookers commented that while his action was suspect, there was no discernible difference between any of the deliveries. In all, Griffin was no-balled five times on the opening day. </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>On the Friday (the second day) Griffin didn't bowl until the new ball was taken after lunch. He managed four deliveries before he was again no-balled in successive balls by Lee. The next delivery was fine according to Lee, but the hapless Griffin was called for dragging by Syd Buller at the bowler's end. </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>In between these battles with the umpires, Griffin bowled well, giving the batsmen a real going-over. In the dying overs, Mike Smith chased a wide one from Griffin and was caught behind by John Waite for 99; the first ball of Griffin's next over bowled Peter Walker, and when Fred Trueman was bowled heaving, Grffin had his hat-trick, the first in a Test at Lord's. </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>His euphoria was short-lived. South Africa were twice bowled out cheaply, and by 2.25pm on Monday (the fourth day) had lost by an innings. But with the Queen was due to visit Lord's at tea, both sides agreed to play a 20-over exhibition match. Griffin was brought on to bowl at the Pavilion End - where Lee was standing - but this time he fell foul of Buller. Buller watched the first ball from square leg, then ambled across to point, and, satisfied with what he had seen, called Griffin's next three half-paced deliveries as no-balls. </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Jackie McGlew, South Africa's captain, consulted with Buller who refused to compromise, merely suggesting that Griffin could finish the over bowling underarm. "What's going on?" McGlew said. "He's obviously not throwing ...he's bowling slowly." Buller replied that he had been instructed to apply international rules. He allowed the next - overarm - delivery as fair before again calling him for throwing. A disconsolate Griffin switched to underarm - and was promptly no-balled by Lee for not notifying him of his change of action. That was his final act as an international player. </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>According to Griffin, after the match Don Bradman came into the South Africans' dressing-room to sympathise and told Griffin that Buller was acting under orders. Bradman claimed to have overheard Gubby Allen, the MCC president and a leading campaigner against chucking, instructing Buller to call Griffin out of the game. </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Perhaps the most damming evidence came from Gover. He explained that he had remedied the problem ahead of the first Test, but that Griffin's "consequent loss of pace at Birmingham made him ineffective. At Lord's he put all he could into his bowling and slipped out of the groove into which he had been put." </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Griffin received the full support of the South African management and remained with the tour, but did not bowl again. He played as a batsman, making one or two useful contributions from the No. 9 spot. He was widely praised for what The Cricketer described as "the superb manner in which he has taken this misfortune", and there is no question that his behaviour was always polite and measured. </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Griffin was contacted by a lawyer who offered to take the matter to court, free of charge. "You'll win hands down and end up a wealthy young man," he said. But Griffin declined. "I loved cricket too much to sully the great game further." </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em><img src="http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/inline/content/image/186337.jpg?" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>He returned home and moved from Natal to Rhodesia, but within two years - and still only 23 years old - his career ended when he was repeatedly no-balled against North-Eastern Transvaal at Salisbury. </em></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="NZL Fan, post: 90473"] RIP - Geoff Griffin - 67 - died on 16th November. WHO you may well ask?? Griffin was a South African cricketer who played two tests in 1960. So what? Well two points of interest. 1. Griffin was the first South African to snare a hat trick in a test match. 2. In the same game he was called for "chucking" on 11 seperate occasions, thus ending his promising career (unlike for some other chuckers I could mention.......). This from cricinfo: [i]Griffin's inclusion in South Africa's 1960 squad to tour England was controversial in itself. The vexed subject of illegal actions was high on the agenda - Ian Meckiff, Graham Rorke and Charlie Griffith were all under the spotlight - and Griffin had been called in domestic matches the previous winter. But tall, blond and fast, he headed the national averages in his second season with 35 wickets at 12.23 for Natal and could not be overlooked. [b]He also suffered from a physical defect, having been handicapped by an accident when a schoolboy which left him unable to straighten his right arm fully..[/b] No tourist had been called for throwing in England up to then, but in the South Africans' early matches Griffin's bowling attracted muttering among the media. Ian Peebles, who sat side-on in the game against Essex, wrote that he was much perturbed by what he saw and that "there was something amiss." At Lord's in May, against MCC, Griffin was no-balled for throwing (in one instance he was called for throwing and dragging) and the genie was out of the bottle. At Trent Bridge a few days later Griffin was again called. The affable Griffin retreated to the internationally famous Alf Gover Indoor School in south-west London, where a three-day coaching session appeared to have ironed out the problem. Although Gover did his best, he later admitted that the arm was unquestionably bent. Griffin played in the first Test at Edgbaston, where there were again mumblings but no action. He cut down his speed, but his penetrativeness went with it. The only time he really opened up, late on the first day, the old problems appeared to return. At Southampton a week later, he was once again no-balled. It was to general surprise that he was named in the XI for the Lord's Test. What followed was a match of mixed fortunes for Griffin. On the plus side, he became the first South African to take a hat-trick in a Test. But that was scant consolation for the events that ended his Test career. In the third over of England's innings Griffin was no-balled by Frank Lee, who was standing at square leg, and after a break for rain, he was called again by Lee. Onlookers commented that while his action was suspect, there was no discernible difference between any of the deliveries. In all, Griffin was no-balled five times on the opening day. On the Friday (the second day) Griffin didn't bowl until the new ball was taken after lunch. He managed four deliveries before he was again no-balled in successive balls by Lee. The next delivery was fine according to Lee, but the hapless Griffin was called for dragging by Syd Buller at the bowler's end. In between these battles with the umpires, Griffin bowled well, giving the batsmen a real going-over. In the dying overs, Mike Smith chased a wide one from Griffin and was caught behind by John Waite for 99; the first ball of Griffin's next over bowled Peter Walker, and when Fred Trueman was bowled heaving, Grffin had his hat-trick, the first in a Test at Lord's. His euphoria was short-lived. South Africa were twice bowled out cheaply, and by 2.25pm on Monday (the fourth day) had lost by an innings. But with the Queen was due to visit Lord's at tea, both sides agreed to play a 20-over exhibition match. Griffin was brought on to bowl at the Pavilion End - where Lee was standing - but this time he fell foul of Buller. Buller watched the first ball from square leg, then ambled across to point, and, satisfied with what he had seen, called Griffin's next three half-paced deliveries as no-balls. Jackie McGlew, South Africa's captain, consulted with Buller who refused to compromise, merely suggesting that Griffin could finish the over bowling underarm. "What's going on?" McGlew said. "He's obviously not throwing ...he's bowling slowly." Buller replied that he had been instructed to apply international rules. He allowed the next - overarm - delivery as fair before again calling him for throwing. A disconsolate Griffin switched to underarm - and was promptly no-balled by Lee for not notifying him of his change of action. That was his final act as an international player. According to Griffin, after the match Don Bradman came into the South Africans' dressing-room to sympathise and told Griffin that Buller was acting under orders. Bradman claimed to have overheard Gubby Allen, the MCC president and a leading campaigner against chucking, instructing Buller to call Griffin out of the game. Perhaps the most damming evidence came from Gover. He explained that he had remedied the problem ahead of the first Test, but that Griffin's "consequent loss of pace at Birmingham made him ineffective. At Lord's he put all he could into his bowling and slipped out of the groove into which he had been put." Griffin received the full support of the South African management and remained with the tour, but did not bowl again. He played as a batsman, making one or two useful contributions from the No. 9 spot. He was widely praised for what The Cricketer described as "the superb manner in which he has taken this misfortune", and there is no question that his behaviour was always polite and measured. Griffin was contacted by a lawyer who offered to take the matter to court, free of charge. "You'll win hands down and end up a wealthy young man," he said. But Griffin declined. "I loved cricket too much to sully the great game further." [img]http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/inline/content/image/186337.jpg?[/img] He returned home and moved from Natal to Rhodesia, but within two years - and still only 23 years old - his career ended when he was repeatedly no-balled against North-Eastern Transvaal at Salisbury. [/i] [/QUOTE]
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