Archie Wiles
Encyclopedia
Charles Archibald Wiles - A useful middle-order batsman whose first-class
career spanned the years 1920 to 1936, Archie Wiles remains the second oldest Test
debutant for West Indies. He was 40 years and 345 days old when he appeared in the second Test of 1933
against England and is surpassed in age only by N. Betancourt
who was 42 years, 242 days old on his own representative debut three years earlier. Wiles was born in Brigetown, Barbados
on August 11, 1892, and died in Diego Martin, Trinidad on November 4, 1957, aged 65. In spite of some very good performances with the bat, he failed when the big occasion came at Old Trafford, scoring just 0 and 2. Although born in Barbados, Wiles played his domestic cricket for Trinidad
in the Caribbean
’s annual Inter-Colonial tournament
. During his career, he surpassed fifty runs in an innings
on eight occasions, twice going on to make a century; in February 1925 he scored 110 against British Guiana
at Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and two years later he made his highest first-class score, 192, against Barbados at Bridgetown. This particular game, a timeless match played over eight days, was remarkable insofar as despite Wiles’ first innings total, which included a fourth-wicket partnership of 146 with J.A. Small
, and in spite of Trinidad’s first innings lead of 384, Barbados won by 146 runs (Barbados 175 & 726, Trinidad 559 & 217). Wiles’ death in 1957 went unrecorded at the time and therefore no obituary was written for him for the Wisden Almanack.
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 spanned the years 1920 to 1936, Archie Wiles remains the second oldest Test
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...
debutant for West Indies. He was 40 years and 345 days old when he appeared in the second Test of 1933
West Indian cricket team in England in 1933
The West Indies cricket team toured England in 1933, playing three Test matches, losing two of them and drawing the other. In all, the side played 30 first-class matches, winning only five and losing nine....
against England and is surpassed in age only by N. Betancourt
Nelson Betancourt
Nelson Betancourt - was a cricketer who was a useful batsman and an occasional wicketkeeper and bowler. He was born in Trinidad on June 4, 1887 and died there on October 12, 1947, aged 60....
who was 42 years, 242 days old on his own representative debut three years earlier. Wiles was born in Brigetown, Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
on August 11, 1892, and died in Diego Martin, Trinidad on November 4, 1957, aged 65. In spite of some very good performances with the bat, he failed when the big occasion came at Old Trafford, scoring just 0 and 2. Although born in Barbados, Wiles played his domestic cricket for Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
’s annual Inter-Colonial tournament
History of cricket in the West Indies to 1918
-Historical background:The development of cricket in all countries has been shaped by historical events but perhaps nowhere else is this more so than in the West Indies where not only colonialism but also slavery shaped society....
. During his career, he surpassed fifty runs in an innings
Innings
An inning, or innings, is a fixed-length segment of a game in any of a variety of sports – most notably cricket and baseball during which one team attempts to score while the other team attempts to prevent the first from scoring. In cricket, the term innings is both singular and plural and is...
on eight occasions, twice going on to make a century; in February 1925 he scored 110 against British Guiana
British Guiana
British Guiana was the name of the British colony on the northern coast of South America, now the independent nation of Guyana.The area was originally settled by the Dutch at the start of the 17th century as the colonies of Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice...
at Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and two years later he made his highest first-class score, 192, against Barbados at Bridgetown. This particular game, a timeless match played over eight days, was remarkable insofar as despite Wiles’ first innings total, which included a fourth-wicket partnership of 146 with J.A. Small
Joseph Small
Joseph A. Small was a West Indian cricketer who played in West Indies' first Test in their inaugural Test tour of England....
, and in spite of Trinidad’s first innings lead of 384, Barbados won by 146 runs (Barbados 175 & 726, Trinidad 559 & 217). Wiles’ death in 1957 went unrecorded at the time and therefore no obituary was written for him for the Wisden Almanack.