Alma Hunt
Encyclopedia
Alma Victor "Champ" Hunt (born 1 October 1910 in Bermuda
; died 5 March 1999 in Bermuda
) was a Bermudian and Scottish cricket
er. He was a left-handed batsman and a right-arm fast-medium bowler.
Hunt started his career playing in his native Bermuda, and scored his first century in an organised game at the age of 10. Considered one of the finest cricketers Bermuda has ever produced, he was selected to take part in trials for the West Indian cricket team
in 1933. He played one first-class
match for GC Grant's XI
as part of the trials, but was not selected when doubts were raised about his eligibility.
The following year, he moved to Scotland
to play as a professional with Aberdeenshire. He later played twice for Scotland
in 1938 against Australia
and Yorkshire
. The game against Yorkshire was his second and final first-class appearance.
He moved back to Bermuda, and became heavily involved with administration of cricket on the island. As Bermuda's delegate to the International Cricket Council
, it was Hunt who first proposed the ICC Trophy
competition, which was first played in 1979
and still serves as a qualifier for the Cricket World Cup
.
He died in 1999 and had asked for a piper
to play a lament at his funeral to mark his connection to Scotland. In his obituary in the 2000 Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
, he was described as the best cricketer ever to emerge from Bermuda.
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
; died 5 March 1999 in Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
) was a Bermudian and Scottish cricket
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. He was a left-handed batsman and a right-arm fast-medium bowler.
Hunt started his career playing in his native Bermuda, and scored his first century in an organised game at the age of 10. Considered one of the finest cricketers Bermuda has ever produced, he was selected to take part in trials for the West Indian cricket team
West Indian cricket team
The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as the West Indies or the Windies, is a multi-national cricket team representing a sporting confederation of 15 mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries, British dependencies and non-British dependencies.From the mid 1970s to the early 1990s,...
in 1933. He played one first-class
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...
match for GC Grant's XI
Jackie Grant
George Copeland Grant was a West Indian cricketer who captained the side through several series.Grant was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. He captained the West Indies' team in the 1930-31, 1933, 1934-35 series...
as part of the trials, but was not selected when doubts were raised about his eligibility.
The following year, he moved to Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
to play as a professional with Aberdeenshire. He later played twice for Scotland
Scottish cricket team
The Scotland national cricket team represents Scotland in the game of cricket. They compete in the Clydesdale Bank 40 as the Scottish Saltires...
in 1938 against Australia
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
and Yorkshire
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure....
. The game against Yorkshire was his second and final first-class appearance.
He moved back to Bermuda, and became heavily involved with administration of cricket on the island. As Bermuda's delegate to the International Cricket Council
International Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council is the international governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from England, Australia and South Africa, renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989.The...
, it was Hunt who first proposed the ICC Trophy
ICC Trophy
The ICC World Cup Qualifier is an international one-day cricket tournament run under the auspices of the International Cricket Council. Any Associate or Affiliate member of the ICC may attempt to qualify for the ICC Trophy by means of a system of regional qualifying events. The test-playing Full...
competition, which was first played in 1979
1979 ICC Trophy
Canada proved too strong for Malaysia, Rasiah Ratnalingham's excellent analysis of 12-5-18-3 not enough to stop the Canadians winning by 44 runs thanks to 77 from Cecil Marshall and 4-33 from John Vaughan...
and still serves as a qualifier for the Cricket World Cup
Cricket World Cup
The ICC Cricket World Cup is the premier international championship of men's One Day International cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council , with preliminary qualification rounds leading up to a finals tournament which is held every four years...
.
He died in 1999 and had asked for a piper
Bagpipes
Bagpipes are a class of musical instrument, aerophones, using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. Though the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe and Irish uilleann pipes have the greatest international visibility, bagpipes of many different types come from...
to play a lament at his funeral to mark his connection to Scotland. In his obituary in the 2000 Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
, he was described as the best cricketer ever to emerge from Bermuda.