Cricket: Evening Express Reflect On Alma Hunt
The Evening Express has taken a look back at the storied career of Bermudian cricket player Alma Hunt, saying he left “his mark in the record book for all time.”
The report from the Aberdeen based media outlet said, “Over the many years of the game being played at Mannofield, cricket lovers have been able to appreciate one of best facilities in the Scottish game as well as some sterling performances from Aberdeenshire players with bat and ball.
“Despite some astonishing heroics at the renowned Mannofield ground, a report in the Evening Express from the month of July 1939 suggests the most amazing individual performance by an Aberdeenshire all rounder was in West Lothian, or more specifically Linlithgow.
“The occasion was a one-day league game in which the home county met the Mannofield men, who had in their ranks a Bermudan all-rounder who took a liking to the picturesque little ground of Boghall, leaving his mark in the record book for all time.
“Alma Hunt, a left-handed batsman and right-handed bowler, was given first opportunity to bowl for the visitors after West Lothian were put into bat.
“He then proceeded to bowl right through the home innings, performing a one-man demolition job on the home side, ending up with the remarkable figures of seven wickets for 11 from 11.7 overs, six of which were maidens, bowling out the bemused Boghall side for a paltry 48.
“There was during an ongoing experiment with eight ball overs, which meant Hunt had delivered 103 balls, while only conceding 11 runs.
“Far from being tired, Hunt, 28, then opened the batting for Shire in the company of TA Findlay, and after only 25 minutes were back in the pavilion job done, ready for a refreshment before the long journey back to Aberdeen.
“Sadly Hunt was never selected by the West Indies, although he did have trials, but did play twice for Scotland against Australia and Yorkshire in 1938.
“The talented Hunt did play a prominent part in the development of world cricket when on returning to Bermuda he took a deep interest in the administration of the game there and was the Bermuda delegate, who proposed the introduction of the ICC Trophy which was first played for in 1979, and is still a qualifier for the World Cup.
“At his funeral in March 1999 in Bermuda, a lone piper played at the graveside – a request he had made in memory of his days in Scotland, not least at Linlithgow 60 years before.”
You can read the full story here on Evening Express.
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