Geoffrey Walter Ashton Chubb (12 April 1911 – 28 August 1982) was a South African

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 five

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) ...

for

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 ...

on the tour of England in

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

aged 40. He first played first-class cricket in 1931–32 as an opening batsman for

Border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...

, making 64 on debut and playing five matches that season. He played twice for

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

in 1936–37 and once in 1939–40, batting in the middle order and opening the bowling. In his one match in 1939–40 he took 4 for 24 and 4 for 43 and scored 71 not out in an innings victory over Eastern Province. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, during which he spent three years as a prisoner of war,

Louis Duffus Louis George Duffus (13 May 1904 in Melbourne, Australia – 24 July 1984 in Johannesburg, South Africa) was a South African cricketer who became the country's most respected writer on the game. Life and career Duffus was educated in Johannesbur ...

, "The South Africans", ''

The Cricketer ''The Cricketer'' is a monthly English cricket magazine providing writing and photography from international, county and club cricket. The magazine was founded in 1921 by Sir Pelham Warner, an ex-England captain turned cricket writer. Warner e ...

'', Spring Annual 1951, pp. 5–9. he resumed playing for Transvaal, enjoying reasonable success as a bowler between 1945–46 and 1948–49. He played no first-class matches in 1949–50, but returned in 1950–51 and displayed the best form of his career, taking 33 wickets at 14.66 and helping Transvaal to victory in the

Currie Cup The Currie Cup is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring (June to October), featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier ...

. He began the season with 5 for 35 and 2 for 27 in an innings victory over

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

, and also took 5 for 34 and 2 for 66 against

Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: *Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guinea) *Western Province (Solomon Islands) *Western Province, Sri Lanka *Western Provinc ...

and his best figures of 7 for 54 and 2 for 10 against

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ...

. On the 1951 tour of England he bowled more overs and took more wickets than anyone else: 809.4 overs, and 76 wickets at 26.38. Opening the bowling with

Cuan McCarthy Cuan Neil McCarthy (24 March 1929 – 14 August 2000) was a South African cricketer who played in fifteen Test matches from 1948 to 1951. Life and career One of five children born to Victor and Phyllis McCarthy, Cuan McCarthy grew up on "Glen ...

, he headed South Africa's Test bowling averages, taking 21 wickets at an average of 27.47, but couldn't prevent England taking the series 3–1. His best figures were 6 for 51 in the first innings of the Third Test; he also took 5 for 77 in the first innings of the Second Test. On the second day of the Fifth Test he bowled unchanged from 11.50 a.m. to 3.30 p.m. ''

Wisden ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...

'' commented that he "went through the tour always willing to keep an end going as long as

the captain ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

desired ... His was an exceptional debut in the world of Test cricket."''Wisden'' 1952, p. 210. Outside the Tests he took 5 for 21 against

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...

in May, and also 5 for 21 against

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

in August. He retired following the series, becoming a national selector and serving two terms as President of the

South African Cricket Association Cricket South Africa (CSA) is the governing body for both professional and amateur cricket in South Africa. In 1991, the separate South African Cricket Union and the South African Cricket Board merged to form the United Cricket Board of South Afr ...

. Unusually for an opening bowler, he wore spectacles while playing.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chubb, Geoff 1911 births 1982 deaths Alumni of Selborne College Border cricketers South Africa Test cricketers South African cricketers Gauteng cricketers South African military personnel of World War II