Louis Duffus

Louis George Duffus (born May 13, 1904 in Melbourne, Australia; died July 24, 1984 in Johannesburg, South Africa) was a South African cricketer 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 Two. He was also the sports editor of the "Johannesburg Star".

He achieved a degree of fame in the merdical world when, though a haemophiliac, he had a hip operation in Oxford.

Bibliography

*"Cricketers of the Veld". Sampson Low, Marston and Company Ltd, 1946.
*"Beyond the Laager", Hurst & Blackett. Published just after World War 2, it describes South African's experiences during the war.
*"South African Cricket 1927-1947, Volume 3", The South African Cricket Association, 1948.
*"Springbok Glory", Longmans, 1955,
*"Champagne Cricket (the Australians in South Africa, 1966-67)".
*"When Springboks Leap the Net: The Dramatic History of South Africa in Davis Cup Tennis", Privately Published, 1968.
*"Play Abandoned: An Autobiography", Timmins, 1969, ISBN 0-561-00077-8.

References

* [http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/story/228591.html Obituary in "Wisden Cricketers' Almanack", 1985 edition.]
* [http://content-www.cricinfo.com/southafrica/content/player/44728.html Cricinfo profile]