Lall Singh

Lall Singh Biography

Lall Singh was the first Sikh and the first Malaysia-born Test cricketer, which made him a favourite among quizmasters. The Indian squad of 1932 was an excellent fielding side, but despite that Lall Singh played his only Test — the first India played — as a specialist fielder. It also involved a good-to-go from ICC, who agreed to the selection despite the fact that Lall Singh had spent only a handful of days in India.

He justified his selection by running out Frank Woolley with an astonishing throw from long-on. He also scored 15 and 29 in the Test, and never played again.

Lall Singh’s fielding was stuff of cricket folklore. He “glided over the ground like a snake,” they said. He was, at best, an acceptable batsman, and his First-Class record — 1,123 runs at 24.95 with a solitary hundred — does not speak very highly of him.

He first grabbed attention with his fielding when a Bert Oldfield-led side toured Malaya. At that stage of his career he was also a decent bowler. After he routed local sides with his bowling skills, Indian expatriates of Malaya raised a fund to send him to India to attend the trial matches for the 1932 tour. Once again, his fielding tilted the scales in his favour.

He later played the Bombay Quadrangular for Hindus (there was no team where a Sikh could qualify for at that time). It is not clear whether he became a groundsman in Kuala Lumpur or ran a nightclub in Paris in his later days, but he did show up for the Jubilee Test of 1980.

Abhishek Mukherjee

Lall Singh Batting & Fielding Averages

Career

Avg

100s

50s

Test

ODIs

T20s

World Cup

Lall Singh Bowling Averages

Career	M	B	R	W	Avg	EC	SR	5WI	10WM	BBI	BBM
Test	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
ODIs	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
T20s	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
World Cup	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--		--