10 Facts About Nummy Deane

Hubert Gouvaine "Nummy" Deane was a South African cricketer who played in 17 Tests from 1924 to 1931.

Nummy Deane himself merited not a single mention in the four-page Wisden article describing the highlights of the tour, and his tour figures indicate that he was rarely prominent: in 25 first-class matches, he passed 50 only once, and his 621 runs came at an average of 22.18.

Nummy Deane played in all four but made little impression; he did better in the Transvaal match against Joel's side, when he scored a second-innings 118.

Poor batting led to defeat in the first match of the series and in the second the South Africans had a first-innings lead of 117, with Nummy Deane contributing 41 to a total of 250, but still lost the match by 87 runs.

Nummy Deane was instrumental in this: in the first innings, with the score at 146 for seven, he and Buster Nupen both made scores of more than 50, with Nummy Deane going on to 77.

Nummy Deane hit good form early in the tour, with 42 in the first first-class match against Worcestershire and 68 in the second against Leicestershire.

The first Test was a dull and even draw on a pitch that Wisden said was "devoid of life": Nummy Deane made 29 out of 44 in his only innings in the game.

The second Test at Lord's was drawn, but was a much more exciting game in which the South Africans, having matched England in the first innings, were saved from what Wisden saw as likely defeat by bad light in the second innings; Nummy Deane failed in both innings.

That innings led to him batting at No 5 in the fifth and final Test; in South Africa's only innings of the match, he came to the wicket to join Herby Taylor with the score at 25 for three, and the pair added 214 in 190 minutes before Nummy Deane was out for 93, his best Test innings; the game finished as a draw.

Nummy Deane suddenly died 21 October 1939 in Johannesburg, Transvaal, at the age of 44 after a heart attack.