Aubrey Faulkner George Aubrey Faulkner ( 17 December 1881 in Port Elizabeth – 10 September 1930 in Walham Green , London ) was a leading cricketer for South Africa for two decades . Early life . Faulkner endured the violence of an alcoholic father before enlisting in the Imperial Light Horse in 1900 to fight in the Anglo - Boer War . After the cessation of hostilities , Faulkner moved to Johannesburg and made his first - class cricketing debut for Transvaal in the 1902 / 03 Currie Cup Tournament . Early career . After playing in the Currie Cup without distinction , Faulkner came to the notice of the South African selectors when he scored a half century and took six wickets with his googlies to lead Transvaal to a surprise win over the touring 1905 / 06 MCC side . He was promptly selected for his Test debut in the first Test of the series against England at Johannesburg and his match figures of 6 / 61 helped South Africa record their maiden Test victory . Faulkner retained his place throughout the whole series and was a significant contributor to South Africa ' s 4 - 1 series victory . Faulkner was selected for the South African tour of the United Kingdom in 1907 and his mastery of googly bowling , along with that of his team mates Reginald Schwarz , Bert Vogler and Gordon White , had a significant effect on the acceptance of wrist spin as an effective bowling weapon . The highlight of the tour for Faulkner being his spell at the Leeds Test match where he took 6 / 17 in eleven overs . The return of the English side to South Africa in 1909 / 10 for a five Test series saw Faulkner at the height of his skills and had many , including " Wisden " , calling him the best all - rounder in the world , as he was the leading run scorer from either team , scoring 545 runs at 60 . 55 and the second highest wicket taker with 29 at 21 . 89 . Faulkner then carried this form into his next series , against Australia in Australia in 1910 / 11 . In the five Test series , Faulkner scored 732 runs at 73 . 20 , including a highest score of 204 in the second Test at Melbourne and took 10 wickets at 51 . 40 . Following the Australian tour , Faulkner married and moved to England , settling in Nottingham , with the intention of playing county cricket . However this did not come to be and Faulkner instead limited his appearances to South African matches in England and the occasional festival match . He never played in South Africa again . South Africa toured England again in 1912 for the triangular series with England and Australia and Faulkner made himself available for South Africa , playing in six Test matches and scoring 194 runs at 19 . 40 and taking 17 wickets at 26 . 70 . During World War I . Following the outbreak of World War I , Faulkner enlisted in the British Army , joining the Royal Field Artillery and served on the Western Front , Macedonia and Palestine , helping to capture Jerusalem . Promoted to Major , Faulkner received the DSO and the Order of the Nile for his bravery and contracted a case of malaria for his troubles . Post - war career and life . Faulkner ' s marriage had disintegrated during his war enforced absence and he divorced in 1920 . Tall , muscular and handsome , Faulkner was considered a cricketing sex symbol and was never short of female admirers , one of whom he married in 1928 . Faulkner had retired from cricket in 1921 to go into coaching but was coerced into returning to Test cricket in 1924 by the touring South Africans , who were suffering from a long injury list . His return to Test cricket was less than spectacular however and after one poor performance at Lord ' s , Faulkner retired for good after 25 Test matches that reaped 1 , 754 runs at 40 . 79 and 82 wickets at 26 . 58 with 7 / 58 his best figures . Faulkner started a cricket school in London , the first of its type in the world and was credited with shaping some future Test players , including Doug Wright , Ian Peebles and Denis Tomlinson . The school however was not a financial success and Faulkner began to suffer from extended periods of depression , possibly exacerbated from the malaria he contracted during the war . On 10 September 1930 , in a small store room at his cricket school , Faulkner gassed himself . He was 48 . His suicide note read " Dear Mackenzie , I am off to another sphere via the small bat - drying room . Better call in a policeman to do investigating . " In 1926 his book " Cricket : Can it be Taught ? " was published . Obituaries for Faulkner tiptoed around the manner of his death but all were fervent in their praise of the elegant batsman , the bowler who could trouble all of the leading batsman and the great fielder , either in the deep or in the slips .