Geoff Griffin

Geoffrey Merton Griffin (12 June 1939 – 16 November 2006) was a Test cricketer who toured England with the South African cricket team in 1960, appearing in two Test matches. A right-arm, fast bowler and lower order batsman, his selection for the tour was controversial, because of his suspect bowling action – some of his deliveries were judged to be thrown rather than bowled. The core of his problem was that, due to a childhood accident, he was unable to fully straighten his right arm.

During the 1960 tour he was no-balled for throwing in several matches prior to the Test series, but retained his place in the side nevertheless. In his second Test appearance, at Lord's in June 1960, he became the first South African cricketer to take a hat-trick in a Test match, and also the first cricketer of any nationality to do so at Lord's. In the same match, however, he was no-balled for throwing eleven times, and again in an exhibition match that followed the match's early conclusion. These events ended his international career, and after fruitless attempts to resolve his problem, he retired from cricket in 1963, at the age of 23.

Griffin was unfortunate to emerge on the international scene at a time when cricketing authorities were particularly concerned about the growing proliferation of bowlers with dubious actions and were determined to eradicate it. He, along with others, was convinced that he had been made a scapegoat to ensure that certain bowlers would be omitted from the Australian side due to tour England in 1961. After 1960 the throwing controversy largely subsided as an issue in international cricket.