Geffery Noblet (14 September 1916 – 16 August 2006) was an Australian

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er who played in three

Test matches Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

from 1950 to 1953. Noblet's bowling performance in the 1948–49 Australian domestic season was the best by a

South Australian South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest o ...

bowler in 38 seasons. Noblet took 38 wickets at 15.4, the best for any South Australian taking ten wickets or more in a season since Robert Rees took 10/129 in 1909–10.Kneebone, H. "Noblet, 'Best For 38 Years'", ''The Advertiser (Adelaide)'', 2 September 1949, p. 5 Following Noblet's selection in the Australian team to tour

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

in 1949–50, the

South Australian Cricket Association The South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) is the peak body for the sport of cricket in South Australia. The association administers the Southern Redbacks based in Adelaide. SACA is the controlling body for the South Australian Grade Cri ...

presented Noblet and fellow South Australian

Gil Langley Gilbert Roche Andrews Langley (14 September 1919 – 14 May 2001) was an Australian Test cricketer, champion Australian rules footballer and member of parliament, serving as Speaker of the South Australian House of Assembly from 1977 to 1979 ...

with a gift of their own choosing. Noblet asked for a set of coffee tables and Langley a combination of a standard electric lamp, coffee tray and ashtray. Noblet got his unusual first name when a family friend, given the task of registering the birth, spelt Noblet's first name as Geffery rather than Jeffery. Noblet himself was not aware of the legal spelling of his name until adulthood when he saw his birth certificate. Noblet was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1995 for service to cricket. During World War Two Noblet served in the transport division of the Australian Army.

References

1916 births 2006 deaths Australia Test cricketers South Australia cricketers Commonwealth XI cricketers Australian cricketers Cricketers from Adelaide Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia D. G. Bradman's XI cricketers {{Australia-cricket-bio-1910s-stub