/ Players

Norman Gordon

South Africa

Full name Norman Gordon

Born August 6, 1911, Boksburg, Transvaal

Current age 98 years 111 days

Major teams South Africa, Transvaal

Also known as Mobil

Batting style Right-hand bat

Bowling style Right-arm fast

Batting and fielding averages

	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	100	50	6s	Ct	St
Tests	5	6	2	8	7*	2.00	0	0	0	1	0
First-class	29	31	10	109	20	5.19	0	0		8	0

Bowling averages

	Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Econ	SR	4w	5w	10
Tests	5	8	1966	807	20	5/103	7/162	40.35	2.46	98.3	0	2	0
First-class	29		7173	2803	126	6/61		22.24	2.34	56.9		8	0

Career statistics

Test debut	South Africa v England at Johannesburg, Dec 24-28, 1938 scorecard
Last Test	South Africa v England at Durban, Mar 3-14, 1939 scorecard
Test statistics
First-class span	1933/34 - 1948/49

Profile

Norman Gordon was unfortunate in that he broke into the South African side just before the war, and was too old by the time it ended. A right-arm quick, he made his debut for Transvaal in 1933-34 but took some time to find his feet as at that time the transition was being made from matting to turf wickets and he struggled to adapt. He played in all five Tests against England in 1938-39, bowling tirelessly in a series during which bat dominated ball. He conceded 100 runs in four innings, but was the leading wicket-taker on either side (20). At Durban, in the Timeless Test, he sent down 92.2 eight-ball overs (taking 1 for 256), and would almost certainly have toured England in 1940 where the conditions would have suited him. He was known as "Mobil", because he used to slick down his unruly hair with handfuls of Vaseline.
Martin Williamson