Alf Hall

Who was Alf Hall?

Alfred Ewart Hall was a South African cricketer who played in seven Tests from 1923 to 1931. His appearances in first class cricket were limited by his movement between South Africa and his native Lancashire due to business commitments, but he played nine times as a professional for his native county in 1923 and 1924, despite controversy as to whether he was eligible given that he had played for South Africa. However, because Hall’s bowling was developed on the matting pitches then used in South Africa, he was not successful in England apart from his first two games when he took a total of sixteen wickets against the two University teams - though he did bowl with deadly effect in Lancashire League games for East Lancashire and Todmorden.

Alf Hall was a left-arm fast medium bowler who could gain a lot of spin from matting pitches, as shown in the 1926–27 Currie Cup where he set a record of fifty-two wickets in six matches including a haul of fourteen wickets for 115 runs against Natal and eleven for 98 against Border. With Buster Nupen he formed a deadly attack that allowed Transvaal to sweep the Currie Cup that year and the win five of six games in 1925/1926.