Monty Noble

Monty Noble
Noble in about 1905
Personal information
Full name
Montague Alfred Noble
Born(1873-01-28)28 January 1873
Chinatown, Sydney, Australia
Died22 June 1940(1940-06-22) (aged 67)
Randwick, New South Wales, Australia
NicknameMA, Alf, Mary Ann
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm medium pace
RoleAll-rounder
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 76)1 January 1898 v England
Last Test9 August 1909 v England
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1893–1919New South Wales
Career statistics
Competition Tests First-class
Matches 42 248
Runs scored 1,997 13,975
Batting average 30.25 40.74
100s/50s 1/16 37/66
Top score 133 284
Balls bowled 7,159 33,112
Wickets 121 625
Bowling average 25.00 23.11
5 wickets in innings 9 33
10 wickets in match 2 7
Best bowling 7/17 8/48
Catches/stumpings 26/0 191
Source: CricInfo, 9 February 2008

Montague Alfred Noble (28 January 1873 – 22 June 1940) was an Australian cricketer who played for New South Wales and Australia. 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.[1][2][3] 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.[1]

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, and the other three against South Africa.

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 to dentistry, 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.[4] In June 2021, he was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame as one of the special inductees to mark the inaugural edition of the ICC World Test Championship final.[5][6]

  1. ^ a b "Player Profile: Monty Noble". CricInfo. Retrieved 19 November 2009.
  2. ^ "Monty Noble – Cricketer of the Year 1900". Wisden. CricInfo. 1900. Retrieved 19 November 2009.
  3. ^ Serle, Percival (1949). "Noble, Montague Alfred". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus & Robertson.
  4. ^ Cricinfo Staff (6 February 2006). "Simpson and Noble enter Hall of Fame". ESPN. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  5. ^ "ICC Hall of Fame special inductions announced to mark the inaugural ICC World Test Championship Final". www.icc-cricket.com. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  6. ^ "Andy Flower and Kumar Sangakkara among 10 players inducted into ICC Hall of Fame". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 13 June 2021.