Geoff Griffin

Who was Geoff Griffin?

Geoffrey Merton Griffin was a cricketer who played two Tests for South Africa in 1960. In his second Test appearance in 1960 at Lord's, he became the first South African cricketer to take a hat-trick in a Test match, and also the first and only cricketer to take a Test hat-trick at Lord's. He is best known for being no-balled for throwing in his second Test and the exhibition match that followed, and he never played Test cricket again.

Griffin was born in Greytown in the former Natal Province and was educated at Durban High School. He was tall and blond, and excelled in many sports, playing hockey for Rhodesia and under-19s rugby for Natal. He was also Natal champion in the high jump, long jump, triple jump and pole vault.

Griffin suffered an accident in childhood which rendered him unable to straighten his right arm. There was continuing controversy about bowlers "throwing" or "chucking" the ball. The issue had been controversial since the editor of Wisden, Sydney Pardon, claimed that Australian fast bowler Ernest Jones was throwing in the tour of England in 1896, and then Jones and C. B. Fry were both no-balled in the Melbourne Test in 1897. The issue achieved renewed prominence following the Ashes series in Australia in 1958–59, when Australians Ian Meckiff and Gordon Rorke were suspected of throwing. Other fast bowlers, such as West Indies' Charlie Griffith and New Zealand's Gary Bartlett were also suspected. The MCC was determined to stamp out the problem before the Ashes series in England in 1961, and English umpires were instructed to strictly enforce the rule against throwing in 1960.