Buster Nupen
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 South Africa (RSA) |
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| Batting style | Right-hand bat | |
| Bowling type | Right-arm fast-medium | |
| Tests | First-class | |
| Matches | 17 | 74 |
| Runs scored | 348 | 1635 |
| Batting average | 14.50 | 17.96 |
| 100s/50s | -/2 | -/8 |
| Top score | 69 | 89 |
| Balls bowled | 4159 | 14210 |
| Wickets | 50 | 334 |
| Bowling average | 35.75 | 18.19 |
| 5 wickets in innings | 5 | 33 |
| 10 wickets in match | 1 | 12 |
| Best bowling | 6/46 | 9/48 |
| Catches/stumpings | 9/- | 34/- |
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Test debut: 5 November 1921 |
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Buster Nupen (Eiulf Peter Nupen; born January 1, 1902, Johannesburg, South Africa; died January 29, 1977, Johannesburg, South Africa) was one of the most enigmatic cricketers on the inter-war period.
A tall, strongly built fast-medium bowler relying chiefly upon an off-cutter but able to vary it with a poorly disguised ball that spun the other way, Nupen was a deadly bowler on the matting pitches on which cricket was played in South Africa when he began his first-class career. So deadly was his lift and break when it bit into the mat that Nupen had the astonishing record in Currie Cup matches of 184 wickets for 12.75 each for Transvaal.
Yet, in 1924, when on his remarkable record at home Nupen was expected to be a major force in England, he was so ineffective on the closely cut grass pitches that he averaged in an exceedingly wet summer 29.55 for 29 wickets. Though injuries did handicap him, he was so harmless when fit on even the most treacherous turf pitches that he did not once take five wickets in an innings.
Consequently, Nupen was never considered for a tour again even though, on the remaining matting pitches at home, his bowling was invariably quite deadly against all but the most skilled batsmen. The skill of English batting in the 1920s can be seen in Ernest Tyldesley's brilliant innings against Nupen turning the ball back several inches and lfting groin-high during the 1927/1928 tour. Two years before that, again a team of about "England A" strength taken by Lord Tennyson, Nupen's bowling was so deadly in four Representative Matches than he took 37 wickets for under 12 runs each.
Though, owing to the loss of one eye as a child, Nupen was not normally regarded as a serious batsman, he could prove useful, as he showed in the Third Test when he scored 50 and 69 and was decisive in South Africa being able to square the series.
Constantly a deadly force against lesser batsmen on matting during the late 1920s - by which time his bowling on these wickets had been developed into a fine art - in 1930/1931 Nupen was, owing to the absence of South Africa's former captain H.G. Deane due to poor form, chosen to captain the team. He did so with considerable skill and accomplished the best bowling of his Test career. However, Nupen was though so badly of on turf pitches that he was left out of the Third and Fifth Tests of that series - the first two ever played on turf in South Africa. Indeed, though he achieved his best-ever domestic figures the following year with 43 wickets for 434 runs, with turf pitches having replaced the matting Nupen did not play any more first-class cricket until recalled in 1934/1935 for Transvaal. He did little of note except for one performance on exceedingly treacherous turf in his last first-class game two years later.
