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

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

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 * Indoor cricket, Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (associa ...

for

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

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 Uni ...

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

Border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...

, 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; ...

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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, during which he spent three years as a prisoner of war, Louis Duffus, "The South Africans", ''

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

'', 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 featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier domestic competition, four South African franc ...

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

Rhodesia Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...

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" (or variations thereof) has been applied to ''Wi ...

'' commented that he "went through the tour always willing to keep an end going as long as the captain 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 Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

in May, and also 5 for 21 against

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

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