Famous Cricketers No 61 - Wes Hall

quest of 321. Hall, who took 6 wickets in the first match, claimed 5 in the second and was clearly the best fast bowler in the tournament. It came as no surprise, therefore, when he was selected for the tour of India and Pakistan that winter. Hall came to regard Kingston as his lucky venue and seldom failed to capture wickets there. Own Team O M R W Opp Ct Total Total 18. Barbados v Jamaica, Melbourne Park, Kingston, July 19, 21, 22, 23, 24 (Jamaica won by 6 runs) not out 0 337 16 5 35 4 A.F.Rae b 136 J.K.Holt c C.A.Atkins C.Headlam c D.W.Allan K.R.Rickards b b R.O.Scarlett 1 90 26.4 4 74 2 K.R.Rickards c C.W.Smith 297 R.Maragh b 19. Barbados v Jamaica, Sabina Park, Kingston, July 30, 31, August 1, 2, 4 (Match drawn) b R.O.Scarlett 3 318 25 3 58 3 A.F.Rae c C.W.Smith 334 1 V.R.Lumsden c W.A.White R.O.Scarlett c W.A.White did not bat - 336-7d 16 4 73 2 J.K.Holt c W.A.White 241-8 F.C.M.Alexander b SEASON’S AVERAGES Batting and Fielding M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct Other matches 2 3 1 4 3 2.00 - - 1 Career 19 21 5 192 22 12.00 - - 6 Bowling O M R W BB Ave 5wi 10wm Season 83.4 16 240 11 4/35 21.81 - - Career 428.4 66 1384 39 4/35 35.48 - - 1958/59 - West Indians in India and Pakistan The West Indies atoned for their disappointing tour of England in 1957 by overwhelming the Indians 3-0 in this five-Test series. Sobers and Kanhai emerged as two of the world’s finest stroke-players, and Basil Butcher and Joseph Solomon solidified their tenure as reliable middle-order batsmen on the Caribbean Test team; while Hall and Gilchrist carried all before them with the ball until the Jamaican had unfortunately to be sent home for disciplinary reasons. The West Indies were less successful in Pakistan, but had the satisfaction of becoming the first visitors to win a Test match there. In five Tests against India, Hall captured 30 wickets while Gilchrist took 26 in four. In three Tests against Pakistan, in the absence of Gilchrist, Wes claimed 16 more. His Test début came at Bombay on 28 November, at the age of 21 years, 77 days. He dismissed Nari Contractor for 0 in his very first over,before conceding a run, and claimed three important wickets in a devastating opening spell that left India hobbling at 40/4. At Kanpur, a few weeks later, Hall claimed five wickets in an innings for the first time in his Test career and proceeded the repeat the feat in India’s second innings. His match analysis on that occasion was a most impressive 11/126. This proved to be the only occasion on which he would capture 10 wickets in a single Test and the only occasion on which ten wickets would be taken by a West Indian in a Test at Kanpur. At Dacca, against Pakistan, Hall claimed 8/77 in a losing cause, but made a telling contribution to the West Indies’ triumph at Lahore when he ended the first innings abruptly with a rare hat-trick, the first by a West Indian in a Test match. He was also the first player to accomplish this feat against Pakistan. The unfortunate victims were Mushtaq Mohammad, Fazal Mahmood and Nasim-ul-Ghani. In 15 first-class matches on this tour, Hall captured 87 wickets at just over 15 runs apiece and had now established himself as the foremost bowler in the Caribbean and one of the best and fastest anywhere. His 87 wickets still serve as a West Indian record for a single tour of India and Pakistan. It was against the Baroda Cricket Association XI in early November that Hall achieved 5 wickets in a single first-class innings for the first time in his career. He actually accomplished this feat on five occasions on this tour. His best performance came at Jorhat in January when he captured 7/54 and bundled out East Zone for a paltry 106. In this fixture, he claimed 10 wickets in a match for the second time in his career but was destined never to do so again. His bowling 12