A batsman whom Lord Harris considered to be the best in the West Indies during their pre-Test days, and whom famous cricket writer CLR James once placed on a similar level to the likes of Bradman, Headley, Sobers, the 3 Ws etc. But in 3 Tests,
Wilton St Hill for all his grace could manage only 117 runs at 19.50 without crossing fifty even once. He endured a miserable tour of England in 1928, West Indies' first as a Test nation where he managed a pathetic 262 runs at 10.91 from all first-class matches. Soon after, George Headley burst onto the scene in spectacular fashion and he faded into obscurity, finishing with a mediocre 1928 runs at 27.15 over a 43-match first-class career.
-
In an ideal world,
Nawab Iftikhar Ali Khan of Pataudi shouldn't be anywhere near this draft, for he was a batsman who arguably had the talent to match his fellow Indian royals KS Ranjitsinhji and KS Duleepsinhji, and a far better player than his son Mansur Ali Khan who would go on to have a distinguished Test career for India. But in the one we have, he played only 6 Tests aggregating a disappointing 199 runs at 19.90 with 1 century (
on debut, no less) and never crossed 25 even once apart from that knock. There were many factors owing to his underwhelming Test record, including a fallout with English skipper Douglas Jardine on the 1932/33 'Bodyline' series over his tactics over which the latter left him out of the playing XI for the remaining Tests claiming that "His Highness is a conscientious objector". This meant that his England Test career was largely jeopardized at a time when he ought to have been at his peak as a batsman. When he resurfaced again in 1946 as captain of India, his country of birth, he looked well past his prime totalling just 55 runs at 11.00 from 3 Test matches against the team he formerly represented. His first-class record of 8750 runs at 48.61 with 29 centuries from 127 matches provided a far better reading.
1.
Jack Badock
2.
Brian Chari
3.
Fred Grace
4.
Nawab of Pataudi snr
5.
Wilton St Hill
6.
7.
Maharajah of Vizianagram
8.
CS Nayudu
9.
10.
Shahadat Hossain
11.