Lall Singh

Lall Singh
Personal information
Full name Lall Singh
Born (1909-12-16)16 December 1909
Kuala Lumpur, Federated Malay States
Died 19 November 1985(1985-11-19) (aged 75)
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Batting style Right-handed
Bowling style Right-arm slow-medium
Role Batsman
International information
National side
Only Test (cap 4) 25 June 1932 v England
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1935–1936 Southern Punjab
1933–1936 Paitala
1932–1936  India
1935 Maharaja of Patiala's XI
1935 Cricket Club of India
1934–1935 Hindus
1934 Retrievers
1932 Possibles
Career statistics
Competition Test First-class
Matches 1 32
Runs scored 44 1123
Batting average 22.00 24.95
100s/50s 0/0 1/5
Top score 29 107*
Balls bowled 0 80
Wickets – 1
Bowling average – 59.00
5 wickets in innings – 0
10 wickets in match – 0
Best bowling – 1/9
Catches/stumpings 1/0 23/0
Source: CricketArchive, 1 January 2007

Lall Singh  pronunciation  (16 December 1909 – 19 November 1985) was an early Indian Test cricketer.

Lall Singh's fame rests on his brilliant fielding which he displayed in India's first Test tour of England in 1932. He played in the only Test of the series and ran out Frank Woolley. In the second innings, he scored 29 and added 74 runs in 40 minutes with Amar Singh. He was an aggressive batsman with an uncertain defence.

Lall Singh is seen standing first from right in photo of 1932 Test team captained by Maharaja of Porbandar, that toured England.

He had been invited to attend the Test trials by the Indian cricket board in 1931. The Indians in Malaysia raised a fund to send him for the trials in Patiala. Even though he was not qualified to play for India on birth or residential qualifications, the Imperial Cricket Conference decided to waive the rules but for this action 'not to be regarded as a precedent'.

When England toured India in 1933/34, Singh was ruled ineligible even though he had been in India for two years. He played for Southern Punjab for two seasons, and returned to Malaysia where he lived out his life as a groundsman. He played 13 matches for the Federated Malay States and Malaya, scoring 722 runs and taking 34 wickets.

Although many sources believe it's an urban myth, after playing for Southern Punjab for a few years, Singh became injured and wasn't eligible to play during the winter of 1935. Singh left for Paris in March 1936, where he married, Myrtle Watkins, an African-American singer based in France whom he met that winter, while she performed at Bombay's Taj Mahal Hotel with Leon Abbey's Orchestra. Myrtle converted to Hinduism, while Singh briefly managed her career. Later the couple divorced and Singh returned to Malaysia in 1939. The couple however never opened a nightclub in Paris.

He was one of oldest players to attend the Golden Jubilee Test in Bombay in 1980 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of BCCI.

Notes

According to Cashman , after playing for Southern Punjab for a few years, Singh left to Paris where he opened a night club with his wife, a singer from the Taj Mahal Hotel, before returning to Malaysia. But Mihir Bose rejects this story. He writes that "there were stories of his running a nightclub in Paris. The truth was more prosaic. He lived out his life as a groundsman in Kuala Lampur".

See also

References

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