Famous Cricketers No 61 - Wes Hall

Summary Wes Hall played altogether in 170 first-class matches, including 122 for the West Indies, 17 for Queensland, 13 for Barbados and 9 for Trinidad & Tobago. He captured 546 wickets at an average of approximately 26 runs each and was only the fifth West Indian bowler (following S.G.Smith, Ramadhin, Sobers and Gibbs) to surpass 500 in a career. In 48 Tests for the West Indies, Hall claimed 192 wickets at an average of 26.38 runs apiece. His best performance at this level was 7/69 at Sabina Park against England in 1959/60. In his Test career, he claimed 65 wickets against both India and England; and against Australia, he finished up with 45. His best Test match analysis was 11/126 against India at Kanpur in December 1958, which remains a West Indian Test record for that ground. Another West Indian Test record was his 9/203 at Brisbane in 1960/61. Hall took 10 wickets in a match on two occasions in first-class cricket and captured five or more in a single innings 19 times. His best performance was 7/51 against Glamorgan at Swansea in August 1963. At the crease, Hall surpassed fifty on seven occasions and achieved his lone century against Cambridge University at Fenner’s in May 1963. His highest score in the Caribbean was 88 for Barbados against India at Bridgetown in March 1962. His most successful innings in Australia yielded 78 runs against Victoria at Melbourne in November 1968. Although he mustered only 818 runs in 66 Test innings, he produced two very useful fifties and shared two memorable partnerships. The first was an unbeaten 98 with Worrell against India at Port-of-Spain in April 1962 which remains a tenth-wicket record partnership for the West Indies against India and was not surpassed as an overall West Indian tenth-wicket record until Carl Hooper and Courtney Walsh added 106 against Pakistan at St. John’s in May 1993. The second was a match-saving and unbroken ninth-wicket stand of 63 with Sobers against England at Port-of-Spain in January 1968. This served for sixteen years as a West Indian ninth-wicket record against England. Altogether Hall scored 2674 first-class runs at an average of 15.10 per innings. He batted on 215 occasions and was not out 38 times. 38