Famous Cricketers No 61 - Wes Hall

1963 - West Indians in England Hall was a much more important member of the West Indian touring team to England this year than he was in 1957. On his first tour, he was little more than a passenger learning his craft; this summer he was one of the veterans expected to offer leadership to his squad. He profited from the sudden advance of Charlie Griffith to the top flight among the world’s fast bowlers. Together they formed an awesome combination that kept England’s leading batsmen forever on the defensive. On a memorable occasion at Southend on 1 July, they demolished Essex for 56 in just under 18 overs, with ‘Big Wes’ capturing 6/22. His most impressive performance on the tour, however, came against Glamorgan at Swansea in early August when he achieved an analysis of 7/51 from 20.4 overs. That was destined to remain his most successful first-class analysis. In his 79th match, Hall exceeded 300 first-class wickets. He reached this milestone by bowling Mike Brearley for 6 in Cambridge University’s first innings at Fenner’s. But the consistent hostility and actual value of Hall’s bowling are not at all reflected in the statistics. He certainly deserved better than the 16 wickets which he captured in the five Tests or the 74 he claimed in his 20 first-class games. It was Griffith who emerged as the star, with 119 very cheap first-class wickets (including 32 in the Tests). At all events, the tourists outplayed their opposition all summer long, winning 15 of 30 first-class matches and losing only 2. They also won the Test series 3-1 to avenge the indignities of 1957. Conrad Hunte and Basil Butcher established themselves as world-class batsmen; Kanhai and Sobers enhanced their reputations as brilliant cricketers; Gibbs emerged as one of the finest spinners of his generation; and Worrell again proved himself an inspirational leader. The tour was consequently one of the most successful ever undertaken by the West Indies. One of its major surprises was Hall’s superb innings of 102 not out in 65 minutes against Cambridge University in May. It was the fastest century of the summer and moved Wisden to report that he “made his runs in the classic mould, not in the unorthodox manner usually adopted by fast bowlers”. Hall never found such batting form again. His innings at Fenner’s remained his sole century in first-class cricket. Own Team O M R W Opp Ct Total Total 78. West Indians v Worcestershire, Worcester, May (1), 2, 3 (Match drawn) did not bat - 120-3d 13 5 22 1 D.Kenyon b 119 did not bat - 57-3 9 4 14 1 D.Kenyon c G. St A.Sobers 162-4d 79. West Indians v Cambridge University, Fenner’s, May 8, 9 (West Indians won by an innings and 203 runs) not out 102 512 8 0 42 2 J.M.Brearley b 104 M.H.Rose b 10 4 27 1 R.A.Hutton lbw 205 80. West Indians v Lancashire, Old Trafford, May 11, 13, 14 (Match drawn) did not bat - 327-4d 16 5 46 2 R.Entwistle c D.L.Murray 171 J.D.Bond c G.St A.Sobers did not bat - 59-1 16 4 60 3 B.J.Booth c M.C.Carew 304 1 H.Pilling c L.R.Gibbs J.B.Statham c D.L.Murray 81. West Indians v MCC, Lord’s, May 18, 20, 21 (West Indians won by 93 runs) lbw J.Cotton 1 306 21 9 35 1 C.Milburn b 120-5d did not bat - 79-1d 16 3 38 1 M.C.Cowdrey lbw 172 82. West Indians v Oxford University, The Parks, May 22, 23, 24 (West Indians won by six wickets) run out 5 107 16 6 27 4 E.W.J.Fillary b 119 1 J.L.Cuthbertson c W.V.Rodriguez Nawab of Pataudi c and b M.Manasseh c W.V.Rodriguez did not bat - 232-4 15 3 36 2 M.A.Baig b 219 Nawab of Pataudi lbw 83. West Indians v Surrey, Kennington Oval, May 25, 27, 28 (Match drawn) c M.J.Stewart b R.Harman 8 191 21 7 42 4 M.J.Stewart b 195 B.Constable b R.A.E.Tindall c G.St A.Sobers R.I.Jefferson c B.F.Butcher did not bat - 145-1 23