Monty Noble

Montague Alfred Noble, otherwise known as MA Noble if you've seen the grandstand named after him at the SCG, was a pretty handy cricketer.  He rose from the Paddington club to captain Australia at test level and at the time was only one of two men to record the "double", 1000 test runs and 100 test wickets against the English. He was named Wisden cricketer of the year in 1900. You can read more about him in his Australian dictionary of biography entry here.

Of more interest to the Cambridge Street resident is just what connection Noble has to the street.  Well, according to the Sands Directory his mother, Maria, lived at 41 Cambridge Street from 1893 into the 1900's.  His brother Henry, "a well-known Anglican clergyman", lived just down the hill at 59 Cambridge Street.  Now the Sands doesn't give the full list of occupants of a house but I assume that MA Noble, who was born in 1873, would have lived with his folks until he got married (which he did in 1914).

Paddington was a veritable cricketing academy in the day, with 3 players from the district club representing Australia.  In addition to MA Noble, we had wicketkeeper JJ Kelly (whose address I am yet to track down) and legendary batsman Victor Trumper (who lived at 112 Paddington Street).  Noble and Trumper both also turned out for the Paddington Baseball Club.