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Montague Alfred Noble (28 January 1873 – 22 June 1940) was an Australian cricketer who played for
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
and
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country b ...
. A right-hand batsman, right-handed bowler who could deliver both medium pace and off-break bowling, capable fieldsman and tactically sound captain, Noble is considered one of the great Australian all-rounders. He scored 13,975 first class runs between 1893 and 1920 and took 624 wickets. He made 37 centuries – including a best of 284 in 1902 – and set several partnership and high-score records for his State team. He played 42 Tests for his country, and captained the team for 15 of these between 1903 and 1909. Only the 12th captain of his country, he won eight of these games, lost five and drew two. Between his first Test in January 1898 and his last in August 1909, he scored 1,997 runs at 30.25 and took 121 wickets at 25.00. He complemented his only century, 133 in 1903, by scoring 16 half-centuries. Noble played 39 of his 42 Tests against
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separa ...
, and the other three against
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 coun ...
. In later life, he coached and played for club level teams, including Paddington Cricket Club with which he had a long-standing connection throughout his career. He moved from
banking A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...
to
dentistry Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is the branch of medicine focused on the teeth, gums, and mouth. It consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases, disorders, and conditions o ...
, and published his exegesis on cricket, ''Gilligan's Men''. His elder brother, Ted Noble, also played briefly for New South Wales. In 2006, he was inducted into the Cricket Hall of Fame by the CA. In June 2021, he was inducted into the
ICC Cricket Hall of Fame The ICC Cricket Hall of Fame recognises "the achievements of the legends of the game from cricket's long and illustrious history". It was launched by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in Dubai on 2 January 2009, in association with the Fed ...
as one of the special inductees to mark the inaugural edition of the
ICC World Test Championship The ICC World Test Championship is a league competition for Test cricket run by the International Cricket Council (ICC), which started on 1 August 2019. It is intended to be the premier championship for Test cricket. It is in line with th ...
final.


Career

Noble was born in
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountai ...
on 28 January 1873. He was the youngest of eight sons of Joseph and Maria Noble, who emigrated from Egham,
Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separa ...
. He "made a name" for himself in grade cricket with the Paddington club and first played for
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
(NSW) as a teenager. He toured New Zealand with NSW in 1893/94, and in 1894/95 scored a 152 * against an England touring team under Andrew Stoddart which drew English attention to his batting. This cemented his place in the state side, and he was a significant contributor to NSW's consecutive Sheffield Shield victories in 1895–96 and 1896–97. Over the summer of 1897/98, Stoddart returned with another England team and were defeated in four of the five Ashes Test matches. Noble, whose first-class form had earned him selection, scored 17 in Australia's only innings of 520, then took one wicket as England stumbled to 315 all out. Following on Noble routed the tourists with 6/49. He ended the series with the best bowling averages for both teams. Australia returned to England in 1899, and Noble experienced his first overseas tour. He scored 116 in a warm-up match and "impressed English critics chiefly by his patience and defence." He played in all five Tests, scoring 367 runs at 52.42, with four half centuries, and took 13 wickets at 31.23. At
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
he scored 60 and 89, withstanding English bowling for eight and a half hours. ''Wisden'' would later record on his death that "his patience equalled his skill in defence, while at times he used his height and reach with full effect in driving, pulling, forcing the ball off his legs, and cutting either square or late – a batsman of rare style and execution without any sign of weakness." He was in particular noted for his ability to cater his technique to English conditions. He was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year for 1900. Noble faced England in Australia over the winter of 1901/02, scoring 138 runs at 15.33, and taking 32 wickets at 19.00. He then returned to England in 1902 as "the best all-rounder" under
Joe Darling Joseph Darling (21 November 1870 – 2 January 1946) was an Australian cricketer who played 34 Test matches as a specialist batsman between 1894 and 1905. As captain, he led Australia in a total of 21 Tests, winning seven and losing four. In ...
. In a warm-up match at
Hove Hove is a seaside resort and one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove, along with Brighton in East Sussex, England. Originally a "small but ancient fishing village" surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th cen ...
against
Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the Englis ...
, he scored his career-best 284 in a then world-record partnership of 428 with
Warwick Armstrong Warwick Windridge Armstrong (22 May 1879 – 13 July 1947) was an Australian cricketer who played 50 Test matches between 1902 and 1921. An all-rounder, he captained Australia in ten Test matches between 1920 and 1921, and was undefeated, winn ...
. He scored 1,416 runs across the tour, at 32.93, and took 98 wickets, though in the Test series he scored only 129 of these runs at 18.42. 1902/03 saw a further 92 runs at 23.00, including another half-century, and took six wickets. Noble was elected to the Australian captaincy for the 1903/04 Ashes series, however England were victorious. In 1905 the leadership reverted to Joe Darling for the tour of England, but Australian again lost the rubber. Noble nevertheless scored 2,084 runs at 44.34 across the entire tour. His bowling was viewed as weaker than normal, however ''Wisden'' credited his innovative captaincy and field settings. He led his team to England once more in 1909, and reversed a hitherto unsuccessful tour for Australia with innovative captaincy and bowling. In his final Test at
The Oval The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since i ...
on 9 August 1909, he scored two and 55, though he went wicketless. Noble returned to State cricket, where in 1908 a testimonial match at the
Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in Sydney, Australia. It is used for Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australian rules football and occasionally for rugby league, rugby union and association ...
had earned him £2,000. He continued at New South Wales until 1920, however with seasonal returns of 23, 54, 201, 80 and 13 runs and wicket totals that surpassed two per season only twice in the years either side of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fight ...
, Noble was past his prime. He retired in 1920 and moved into banking, and then dentistry. He wrote and published several works on cricket: ''Gilligan's Men'' (1925), ''The Game's the Thing'' (1926), ''Those Ashes'' (1927), and ''The Fight for the Ashes'' (1929) and also became a noted commentator and broadcaster. He continued his association with Paddington Cricket Club, and worked for a time coaching junior cricket teams. He died in
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountai ...
on 22 June 1940, survived by his brother who died a year later. He was also a church bell ringer, and reportedly visited many towers in England while on cricket tours.


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Noble, Monty 1873 births 1940 deaths Australian Cricket Hall of Fame inductees Australia Test cricketers Australia Test cricket captains New South Wales cricketers Cricketers from Sydney Wisden Cricketers of the Year Wisden Leading Cricketers in the World Australian cricketers Cricketers who have taken five wickets on Test debut Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees