Hall inducted into ICC Hall of Fame

West Indies legend Sir Wesley Hall is the latest cricketer to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.

Hall, a former fast bowler who played 48 Tests from 1958-69 and took 192 wickets at 26.38, was acknowledged with the honour at Sabina Park, Jamaica, where he was presented with a commemorative cap from fellow ICC Cricket Hall of Famer, Courtney Walsh, during the lunch break on the opening day of the second cricket Test between the West Indies and Australia.

Hall is the fourth cricketer this year to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame after Betty Wilson, Anil Kumble and Martin Crowe, who were inducted earlier this year during World Cup.

“I feel privileged and indeed honoured to be given this tremendous award,” said the Barbados product.

“I have noted the list and it has some tremendous cricketers – heroes who have made the game what it is today. So I am humbled to be included among these many greats of the game.

“Anytime you get these kind of encomiums, it is memorable. It is fantastic to receive the award in the West Indies and in front of adoring fans, which makes it even more special.

“I have represented the West Indies as a cricketer, as the team manager, and as the President of the WICB, so I will treat this as something I value and will always remember.

“Fast bowling was my hallmark and I enjoyed my moments on the cricket field. I enjoyed representing the people of the West Indies and contributing towards the development of the game and the region.

“Cricket has been extremely good to me and I was happy to give back to the game. This honour, presented to me by the ICC, is one I will cherish. It is not just for me but for the people of the West Indies.”

Hall, born on 12 September 1937 in Glebe Land, Station Hill, St Michael, Barbados, was first selected on the 1957 tour of England with only one first-class game to his name but didn’t play any Tests.

He was then chosen for the 1958-59 tours to India and Pakistan and finished with 46 wickets in eight Tests.

In the third Test against Pakistan at Bagh-e-Jinnah, Lahore, Hall took the wickets of Mushtaq Mohammad, Nasim-ul-Ghani and Fazal Mahmood to become the first West Indies bowler to claim a hat-trick.

Hall also featured in the famous tied Test against Australia in Brisbane in December 1960 where he took match figures of 9-203, including 5-63 in the second innings.

He bowled the last over of the match as Australia, requiring six runs for victory with three wickets standing, were bowled out for 232 on the penultimate delivery.

After retirement, he become an ordained minister as well as the Minister of Tourism and Sport in the Barbados government.

He also managed West Indies touring sides and in 2001 took over as the President of the West Indies Cricket Board.

ICC Cricket Hall of Fame: Sydney Barnes, Bishan Bedi, Alec Bedser, Richie Benaud, Allan Border, Ian Botham, Geoffrey Boycott, Donald Bradman, Greg Chappell, Ian Chappell, Denis Compton, Colin Cowdrey, Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Lance Gibbs, Graham Gooch, David Gower, WG Grace, Tom Graveney, Gordon Greenidge, Richard Hadlee, Walter Hammond, Neil Harvey, George Headley, Jack Hobbs, Michael Holding, Leonard Hutton, Rohan Kanhai, Imran Khan, Alan Knott, Jim Laker, Harold Larwood, Dennis Lillee, Ray Lindwall, Clive Lloyd, Hanif Mohammad, Rodney Marsh, Malcolm Marshall, Peter May, Javed Miandad, Keith Miller, Bill O’Reilly, Graeme Pollock, Wilfred Rhodes, Barry Richards, Vivian Richards, Andy Roberts, Garfield Sobers, Brian Statham, Fred Trueman, Derek Underwood, Clyde Walcott, Everton Weekes, Frank Woolley, Frank Worrell, Herbert Sutcliffe, Steve Waugh, Wasim Akram, Victor Trumper and Clarrie Grimmett, Rachael Heyhoe-Flint, Ken Barrington, Courtney Walsh, Joel Garner, Belinda Clark, Frederick Spofforth, Curtly Ambrose, Alan Davidson, Enid Bakewell, Brian Lara, Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist, Debbie Hockley, Bob Simpson, Waqar Younis, Anil Kumble, Betty Wilson, Martin Crowe, Wesley Hall.