Sir Wesley Winfield Hall was born on 12 September 1937 and is a Barbadian former cricketer and politician.
53 Facts About Wes Hall
1.
2.
Wes Hall was one of the most popular cricketers of his day and was especially popular in Australia, where he played two seasons in the Sheffield Shield with Queensland.
3.
Wes Hall was included in the West Indies squad to tour England in 1957 having only played one match of first-class cricket.
4.
Wes Hall made his Test cricket debut against India in 1958 and was instantly successful.
5.
Wes Hall took a Test hat-trick in Pakistan in 1959, the first West Indian cricketer to do so.
6.
Wes Hall bowled the final over in two famous Test matches, the Tied Test against Australia in 1960 and the Lord's Test against England in 1963.
7.
Wes Hall was involved in the administration of West Indies cricket as a selector and team manager and served as President of the West Indies Cricket Board from 2001 to 2003.
8.
Wes Hall was later ordained a minister in the Christian Pentecostal Church.
9.
Wes Hall is a member of the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame and the West Indies Cricket Hall of Fame.
10.
Wes Hall began his schooling at St Giles' Boys' School and later obtained a place at the renowned Combermere School thanks to a free scholarship.
11.
At the time the leading schools in Barbados played against grown men in the elite Division 1 of the Barbados Cricket Association and Wes Hall was exposed to a high standard of cricket at an early age.
12.
Wes Hall played for the Cable Office cricket team and it was there that Wes Hall took up fast bowling.
13.
Wes Hall took six wickets that day and decided that bowling would be his path to the West Indies team.
14.
Wes Hall was unlucky not to pick up a wicket having Colin Cowdrey dropped by Kenneth Branker at first slip.
15.
Wes Hall met with some success an early match against Baroda, taking 5 wickets for 41 runs in Baroda's second innings.
16.
Wes Hall made his debut in the first Test against India at Brabourne Stadium at Bombay and met with almost instant success.
17.
Wes Hall dismissed the Indian opener Nari Contractor for a duck and quickly followed than with the wickets of Pankaj Roy and Vijay Manjrekar.
18.
Wes Hall was equal to the task, playing "a decisive part in India's downfall" taking 11 wickets in the match.
19.
Wes Hall's victims were Mushtaq Mohammad, Nasim-ul-Ghani and Fazal Mahmood.
20.
Wes Hall played alongside his great partner Charlie Griffith in Test cricket for the first time in the fifth Test at Port of Spain.
21.
Wes Hall was first offered a contract by Accrington for the 1959 season, which he turned down through loyalty to his employer in Barbados who had provided him with leave to tour England.
22.
Wes Hall was a success in League cricket, capturing 100 wickets in the 1960 season, 106 wickets in the 1961 season and 123 wickets in the 1962 season, falling just short of the then-League record.
23.
Wes Hall left Accrington in 1964 to take up a less restrictive contract with Great Chell Cricket Club in the Staffordshire League.
24.
Wes Hall broke through early, taking the wickets of Bob Simpson and Neil Harvey, followed, after some stubborn resistance, by Norm O'Neill.
25.
The West Indies captain Frank Worrell then dismissed Colin McDonald before Hall struck again for his fourth wicket, Les Favell caught by Joe Solomon.
26.
In one of the most exciting finishes in Test match history, Wes Hall had Benaud caught behind, then dropped a catch and two Australian batsmen were run out trying to make the winning run.
27.
The pitches used in the remaining three Test of the series favoured slow bowling and Wes Hall did not play as large a role from that point on.
28.
Wes Hall later described the spontaneous display of affection from the public as one usually "reserved for royalty or the Beatles".
29.
Wes Hall took 43 wickets for the season at an average of 20.25, trailing only Richie Benaud of New South Wales in the season aggregate.
30.
Wes Hall took up where he left off against the Indians two years before.
31.
The Indians were a better batting side than the one Wes Hall destroyed in the sub-continent in 1960 but they were still unable to come to terms with his pace.
32.
The West Indies won the series 5 Tests to nil and Hall took 27 wickets at an average of 15.74.
33.
Wes Hall was "the ideal foil" for Griffith and played an invaluable support role.
34.
However, Hall was still considered "the key man of the [West Indies] attack" and on occasion was still as damaging as ever.
35.
Wes Hall injured his left knee during a net session early in the tour and the sub-continental pitches neutered his speed.
36.
Wes Hall started the first Test of the series at Bombay in style, capturing two early wickets in a "superb" spell, "worthy of a great fast bowler" but did not take another wicket in the match.
37.
Wes Hall "bowled with his old enthusiasm" in the second Test at Kingston, albeit on a pitch described by Wisden as "crazy paving" but as the series continued the England batsmen took a heavy toll on Wes Hall and his long-time partner Griffith.
38.
The West Indies Test selection panel told Sobers that Hall was "past his best" and that he would be left out of the team.
39.
Wes Hall sustained an injury and was not able to complete the match, having bowled only 16 overs for the match and taking a solitary wicket.
40.
Wes Hall was still unfit to play by the time the second Test started and never again played Test cricket.
41.
Wes Hall played two first-class matches on the tour, capturing two wickets at an average of 53.00.
42.
Wes Hall then returned to Trinidad to complete his last season in the Shell Shield and his contract with WITCO.
43.
Wes Hall met with moderate success, taking 15 wickets for Trinidad at a respectable average of 22.46.
44.
Wes Hall agreed and together the two men walked through the dangerous neighbourhood, simply asking the residents how they could help them.
45.
In 2001 Hall was elected president of the West Indies Cricket Board.
46.
Wes Hall chose not to stand for re-election in 2003, citing health problems.
47.
Wes Hall became involved in Barbadian politics, joining the Democratic Labour Party.
48.
In 1987, Wes Hall was appointed Minister of Tourism and Sports in the Government of Barbados.
49.
Notably, Wes Hall ministered to fellow Barbadian fast bowler Malcolm Marshall while Marshall was dying from colon cancer.
50.
Wes Hall was knighted in the 2012 Birthday Honours for services to sport and the community.
51.
Wes Hall had a magnificent, bounding approach, eyes bulging, teeth glinting, crucifix flying, climaxing in a classical cartwheel action and intimidating followthrough.
52.
Wes Hall himself said after one of his deliveries fractured Australian cricketer Wally Grout's jaw "It made me sick to see Wal leaving and it made me sicker to hear some jokers in the crowd ranting on as though I had intentionally hurt [Grout]".
53.
Wes Hall was one of the most popular cricketers of his day.