Louis Duffus
Encyclopedia
Louis George Duffus was a South African cricket
er who became the country's most respected writer on the game.
He was educated in Johannesburg, being awarded a Bachelor of Commerce degree. He was a fine athlete and baseballer, as well as a cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman and occasional wicketkeeper, who played in five first-class
matches for Transvaal
between 1923/24 and 1934/35. Meanwhile he had established himself as a cricket journalist, accompanying the South African national side on their 1929 tour of England
and supplying copy for a number of British papers. Thereafter, until South Africa were barred from Test cricket some forty years later as a result of apartheid, he hardly missed a Test match in which they were involved. He covered more than one hundred in all. His Wisden
obituary described him as conscientious, generous and very fair, with a delightful manner and a nice turn of phrase.
During the 1935 South African tour of England
he was summoned from the press box to field as a substitute against Glamorgan
. He caught Dyson
at slip, which helped in ensuring the tourists' victory in front of a large Swansea
crowd. He was proud that Wisden mentioned this in its match report. He had not been far from selection for the touring party, having played in a trial match in the previous December.
He compilerd and edited Volume 3 of the official history of South African cricket, covering the years from 1927 to 1947.
He also wrote on rugby union
and was a war correspondent during World War II
. He was also the sports editor of the Johannesburg Star.
He achieved a degree of fame in the merdical world when, though a haemophilia
c, he had a hip operation in Oxford
.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er who became the country's most respected writer on the game.
He was educated in Johannesburg, being awarded a Bachelor of Commerce degree. He was a fine athlete and baseballer, as well as a cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman and occasional wicketkeeper, who played in five first-class
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
matches for Transvaal
Transvaal cricket team
Gauteng cricket team is the first-class cricket team of the province of Gauteng in South Africa....
between 1923/24 and 1934/35. Meanwhile he had established himself as a cricket journalist, accompanying the South African national side on their 1929 tour of England
South African cricket team in England in 1929
The South African cricket team toured England in the 1929 season to play a five-match Test series against England.England won the series 2-0 with 3 matches drawn.-Test series summary:* [ 1st Test] at Edgbaston – match drawn...
and supplying copy for a number of British papers. Thereafter, until South Africa were barred from Test cricket some forty years later as a result of apartheid, he hardly missed a Test match in which they were involved. He covered more than one hundred in all. His Wisden
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
obituary described him as conscientious, generous and very fair, with a delightful manner and a nice turn of phrase.
During the 1935 South African tour of England
South African cricket team in England in 1935
The South African cricket team toured England in the 1935 season to play a five-match Test series against England.South Africa won the series 1-0 with 4 matches drawn. Their victory at Lord's was their first in a Test in England, and with the remaining matches drawn it also ensured that they would...
he was summoned from the press box to field as a substitute against Glamorgan
Glamorgan County Cricket Club
Glamorgan County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Glamorgan aka Glamorganshire . Glamorgan CCC is the only Welsh first-class cricket club. Glamorgan CCC have won the English County...
. He caught Dyson
Arnold Dyson
Arnold Herbert Dyson was an English first-class cricketer who played for Glamorgan.Dyson was born in Yorkshire and played as a right-handed opening batsman, often partnering Emrys Davies. A consistent batsman, he passed 1000 runs in all but one season from 1931 until 1947...
at slip, which helped in ensuring the tourists' victory in front of a large Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
crowd. He was proud that Wisden mentioned this in its match report. He had not been far from selection for the touring party, having played in a trial match in the previous December.
He compilerd and edited Volume 3 of the official history of South African cricket, covering the years from 1927 to 1947.
He also wrote on rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
and was a war correspondent during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He was also the sports editor of the Johannesburg Star.
He achieved a degree of fame in the merdical world when, though a haemophilia
Haemophilia
Haemophilia is a group of hereditary genetic disorders that impair the body's ability to control blood clotting or coagulation, which is used to stop bleeding when a blood vessel is broken. Haemophilia A is the most common form of the disorder, present in about 1 in 5,000–10,000 male births...
c, he had a hip operation in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
.