His greatest achievements as a Test cricketer included taking six wickets in eleven overs against England and the first-ever double century by a South African.
[7] Faulkner left home at the age of nineteen and moved to Johannesburg to join the Imperial Light Horse and fight in the Anglo-Boer War.
[3][6] After the end of the war, Faulkner was given a chance to play two first-class cricket matches for Transvaal in the 1902/03 Currie Cup Tournament.
[6] After playing in the Currie Cup without distinction, in 1904, Faulkner was taught how to bowl a googly by Reggie Schwarz, who had learned it from Bernard Bosanquet while on tour with the South African team in England in 1904.
[6] 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 in just his fourth first-class match.
[3][6][11] During this tour, the four spinners took a combined total of 228 first-class wickets, with some Englishmen complaining that Faulkner's googly was unfair because it was so hard to detect.
[3] In the first Test match of the series, Faulkner top-scored in the first innings with 78 runs, then bowled 33 overs without much rest to take 5 wickets.
[22] South Africa's 150-run first innings lead was blown away by a 159 scored by Victor Trumper faster than a run every ball.
[6][21] Since Faulkner was the only batsman able to stand up to the Australian bowlers, he effectively became the team's batting coach for the rest of the series.
This paid off in the third Test at the Adelaide Oval, where South Africa batted well as a team, not relying on Faulkner, and won the match by 38 runs.
[6][23][24] Over the five-match series, Faulkner scored 723 runs, which was more than the second and third-best South African batsmen combined.
[26] 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, taking part in the capture of Jerusalem.
[6] No longer able to bowl long spells and struggling to make a living, Faulkner effectively retired from first-class cricket after the war.
Faulkner's batting was significantly worse than it had been 12 years earlier, but he still managed to score 25 runs, and while bowling, he almost took the wicket of Jack Hobbs.
However, South African wicket-keeper Tommy Ward fumbled the ball and missed out on the stumping opportunity, leaving Faulkner wicketless for the match.
[7] The school was never a financial success even though Faulkner would work seven days a week due to his reluctance to charge more,[6] but it did achieve worldwide fame.
[14] Though he was never diagnosed, Faulkner is thought to have suffered from bipolar disorder, possibly exacerbated by malaria he contracted during the war.
The faster bounce was due to Faulkner (and the other South African bowlers) generating their spin and pace more from a flick of the wrist than from arm movement.