Nyron Asgarali
Encyclopedia
Nyron Sultan Asgarali was a former West Indian cricket
er who played in two Tests
in 1957
.
Asgarali was a right-handed opening batsman and an occasional medium-paced bowler whose first-class cricket
career lasted more than 20 years, but included only 50 matches, 21 of them on the 1957 West Indies tour of England. Apart from 1957, he never played more than three first-class matches in any single season.
Asgarali was 30 before he made a first-class century, but then made several in inter-island and other matches for Trinidad and Tobago
. He also spent several years playing Lancashire League cricket and his knowledge of English conditions was probably a contributory factor in his selection for the 1957 tour. The tour marked the transition between the early 1950s batting dominance of the Three Ws (Everton Weekes
, Clyde Walcott
and Frank Worrell
) and the emergence of new talent in Garfield Sobers
, Rohan Kanhai
and Collie Smith
, and Asgarali was seen as a back-up rather than a front-line batsman. But consistent scoring in county games, plus unexpected defeat in the first Test at Edgbaston, led to him being called up for the second match at Lord's. He made a first-innings duck, and, batting at No 4, a second-innings 26, and was then dropped. Recalled for the final Test at The Oval
, he made his highest Test score of 29 out of a total of 89 – Worrell was dismissed early, but Asgarali and Sobers, who made 39, took the score to 68 before the second wicket fell, so the last nine wickets fell for just 21 runs.
On the 1957 tour as a whole, Asgarali made 1,011 runs at an average just below 30.
Asgarali made no further Test appearances, though he played in first-class games in Trinidad into his 40s. His son, Gregory, was also a first-class cricketer for Trinidad and Tobago.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er who played in two Tests
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
in 1957
West Indian cricket team in England in 1957
The West Indies cricket team toured England in the 1957 season to play a five-match Test series against England.England won the series 3-0 with two matches drawn...
.
Asgarali was a right-handed opening batsman and an occasional medium-paced bowler whose first-class cricket
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
career lasted more than 20 years, but included only 50 matches, 21 of them on the 1957 West Indies tour of England. Apart from 1957, he never played more than three first-class matches in any single season.
Asgarali was 30 before he made a first-class century, but then made several in inter-island and other matches for Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago cricket team
The Trinidad and Tobago cricket team is the representative cricket team of the country of Trinidad and Tobago.The team takes part in inter-regional cricket competitions in the Caribbean, such as the Regional Four Day Competition and the WICB Cup, with the best players selected for the West Indies...
. He also spent several years playing Lancashire League cricket and his knowledge of English conditions was probably a contributory factor in his selection for the 1957 tour. The tour marked the transition between the early 1950s batting dominance of the Three Ws (Everton Weekes
Everton Weekes
Sir Everton DeCourcy Weekes, KCMG, GCM, OBE is a leading former West Indian cricketer. Along with Frank Worrell and Clyde Walcott, he formed what was known as "The Three Ws" of West Indian cricket.-Youth and early career:...
, Clyde Walcott
Clyde Walcott
Sir Clyde Leopold Walcott, KA, GCM was a West Indian cricketer. Walcott was a member of the "three W's", the other two being Everton Weekes and Frank Worrell: all were very successful batsmen from Barbados, born within a short distance of each other in Bridgetown, Barbados in a period of 18...
and Frank Worrell
Frank Worrell
Sir Frank Mortimer Maglinne Worrell is sometimes referred to by his nickname of Tae and was a West Indies cricketer and Jamaican senator...
) and the emergence of new talent in Garfield Sobers
Garfield Sobers
Sir Garfield St Aubrun Sobers AO, OCC is a former cricketer who captained West Indies. His first name of Garfield is variously abbreviated as Gary or Garry. He is widely regarded as one of cricket's greatest ever all-rounders, having excelled at all the essential skills of batting, bowling and...
, Rohan Kanhai
Rohan Kanhai
Rohan Bholalall Kanhai is a former West Indian Cricket player of Indo-Guyanese descent. He is widely considered as one of the best batsmen of the 1960s. Kanhai featured in several great West Indian teams, playing with, among others, Sir Garfield Sobers, Roy Fredericks, Lance Gibbs, and Alvin...
and Collie Smith
Collie Smith
O'Neil Gordon 'Collie' Smith was a West Indian cricketer....
, and Asgarali was seen as a back-up rather than a front-line batsman. But consistent scoring in county games, plus unexpected defeat in the first Test at Edgbaston, led to him being called up for the second match at Lord's. He made a first-innings duck, and, batting at No 4, a second-innings 26, and was then dropped. Recalled for the final Test at The Oval
The Oval
The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
, he made his highest Test score of 29 out of a total of 89 – Worrell was dismissed early, but Asgarali and Sobers, who made 39, took the score to 68 before the second wicket fell, so the last nine wickets fell for just 21 runs.
On the 1957 tour as a whole, Asgarali made 1,011 runs at an average just below 30.
Asgarali made no further Test appearances, though he played in first-class games in Trinidad into his 40s. His son, Gregory, was also a first-class cricketer for Trinidad and Tobago.