Walter Frank Giffen (20 September 1861 – 28 June 1949) was an Australian sportsman who played in three

Test cricket Test cricket is a Forms of cricket, format of the sport of cricket, considered the game’s most prestigious and traditional form. Often referred to as the "ultimate test" of a cricketer's skill, endurance, and temperament, it is a format of i ...

matches between 1887 and 1892 and played in

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

for

Norwood Football Club The Norwood Football Club, nicknamed the Redlegs, is an Australian rules football club competing in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). Its home ground is Norwood Oval, Coopers Stadium (Norwood Oval), which is often referred ...

in the

South Australian Football Association The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as th ...

Early life and career

The younger brother of leading Australian cricketer and Australian rules footballer

George Giffen George Giffen (27 March 1859 – 29 November 1927) was a cricketer who played for South Australia and Australia. An all-rounder who batted in the middle order and often opened the bowling with medium-paced off-spin, Giffen captained Australia ...

, Walter Giffen was born in

Norwood, South Australia Norwood is a suburb of Adelaide, about east of the Adelaide city centre. The suburb is in the City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters, whose predecessor was the oldest South Australian local government municipality. The Parade, Adelaide, The Parad ...

on 20 September 1861, to Richard Giffen, a carpenter and his wife Elizabeth (née Challand). Giffen played alongside his brother at Norwood Football Club, where he was a member of the 1879 Norwood premiership team, and firstly at Norwood Cricket Club before they moved to

Adelaide Cricket Club Adelaide Cricket Club or is a semi-professional cricket club in Adelaide, South Australia. It competes in the South Australian Grade Cricket League, which is administered by the South Australian Cricket Association (SACA). The Adelaide Cricket C ...

ahead of the 1894/95 season.

First-class cricket career

Giffen made his first-class debut for

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

on 24 March 1883, against

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the Lis ...

, scoring a duck (out of a total of 23) and eight as South Australia lost by an innings and 98 runs. He struck better form the next season, against Victoria at

Adelaide Oval The Adelaide Oval is a stadium in Adelaide in the state of South Australia. It is located in the Adelaide Parklands, parklands. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby league, ...

, top scoring in South Australia's second innings with what was called "a faultless 89" (his highest first-class score) as South Australia lost by four wickets. Giffen lost the tops of two fingers when he got his left hand trapped between a pair of cog-wheels in 1886 at the

South Australian Gas Company The South Australian Gas Company (later known as SAGASCO) was formed in 1861 twenty-five years after the colony of South Australia was first settled. The establishment of gasworks from 1863 provided not only industry and employment, but also str ...

's Brompton Gasworks. Considered a sound batsman with a solid defence, Giffen's strength was his fielding in the deep and he "possessed a capital return to the wicket". Giffen made his Test debut against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in February 1887 and was involved in a controversial event when Giffen, batting, hit the ball back to the bowler

George Lohmann George Alfred Lohmann (2 June 1865 – 1 December 1901) was an English cricketer, regarded as one of the greatest bowlers of all time. Statistically, he holds the lowest lifetime Test bowling average among bowlers with more than fifteen wickets ...

, who knocked the ball on the half volley to

W.G. Grace William Gilbert Grace (18 July 1848 – 23 October 1915) was an English cricketer who is widely considered one of the sport's all-time greatest players. Always known by his initials as "WG", his first-class career spanned a record-equalling 4 ...

at point. Grace then claimed the catch, and the unsighted umpire gave Giffen out.Rae, p. 142. In 1891 Giffen played for South Australia against the touring English side, making 65 in a total of 562, South Australia's then highest ever score, before being forced to retire hurt when his brother drove a ball straight back down the wicket, hitting the non-striker Giffen on the fingers of his right hand, injuring them so he was unable to continue his innings.Giffen, p. 22. In a 1894/95 match against the touring English side, Giffen and

Clem Hill Clement Hill (18 March 18775 September 1945) was an Australian cricketer who played 49 Test matches as a specialist batsman between 1896 and 1912. He captained the Australian team in ten Tests, winning five and losing five. A prolific run ...

added 192 for the eighth wicket, which remained the record South Australian first-class eighth wicket stand until February 2002/03 when Brad Young and Mick Miller added 222 against

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

Controversy over Australian selection

Giffen has been called "one of the worst Test batsmen of all time" and it was alleged that Giffen played Test cricket only because George refused to play unless Walter was also selected. The Australian media was particularly scathing of Giffen's national selection, with '' The Bulletin'' publishing a poem ridiculing him and stating "The big black spot on the selection of the Australian Eleven for England is Walter Giffen, whose proper place is in a second eleven. He is simply the brother of George Giffen and that is all." George Giffen always denied having any influence over his brother's inclusion in Australian teams, arguing that Giffen had been picked on the strength of very good batting and when he did not have success in England, "nobody was more surprised than myself, for I had always thought that he would acquit himself well on English grounds."

Personal

In 1896 it was reported that Giffen was an owner of the lucrative "Lucky Hit" gold mine near

Blumberg Blumberg () is a municipality situated in the Schwarzwald-Baar region of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. south of Donaueschingen, it lies between the southern edge of the ''Schwarzwald'', the Black Forest, the border with Switzerland's Canton of Sc ...

in the

Adelaide Hills The Adelaide Hills region is located in the southern Mount Lofty Ranges east of the city of Adelaide in the state of South Australia. The largest town in the area, Mount Barker, South Australia, Mount Barker, is one of Australia's fastest-growi ...

as well as working in the mine. While there Giffen continued to play cricket, including scoring 150* and 150 for Blumberg Cricket Club against Mount Pleasant and Mount Torrens respectively. He worked for the

for nearly 50 years."Death of Mr W.F. Giffen", ''The Advertiser'', 29 June 1949, p. 4

References

Sources

* Giffen, G. (1898) ''With bat and ball: Twenty-five years' reminiscences of Australian and Anglo-Australian cricket'', Ward, Lock & Co.: Melbourne. * Harte, C. (1989) ''The History of the South Australian Cricket Association'', Sports Marketing: Adelaide. . * Rae, S. (2012) ''W. G. Grace: A Life'', Faber & Faber: London. . * Stanton, H.V.L (1893) ''The Australian Cricket Team of 1893'', Wright & Co.: London.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Giffen, Walter 1861 births 1949 deaths Australia Test cricketers South Australia cricketers Cricketers from Adelaide Norwood Football Club players Australian rules footballers from South Australia Australian gold prospectors 19th-century Australian sportsmen Colony of South Australia people Sportspeople from South Australia