Ellis Achong
Encyclopedia
Ellis Edgar Achong (16 February 1904 – 29 August 1986) was a sportsman from Trinidad and Tobago
in the West Indies. He played cricket for the West Indies and was the first person of Chinese descent to play in a Test match
. Left-arm unorthodox spin
(left-arm wrist spin
) is sometimes known as "slow left-arm chinaman" (SLC) which is thought to be in his honour.
Achong was born in Belmont, Port of Spain
. He played football
as a left-winger for a local team, Maple, in the 1920s and 1930s, and represented Trinidad and Tobago
from 1919 to 1932.
Achong is better known for playing cricket. He was mainly a bowler
. His stock ball was left-arm orthodox spin
(left-arm finger spin
), but one of his variations was unorthodox left-arm spin. After bowling this variation to have Walter Robins
stump
ed at Old Trafford in 1933, it is reputed that Robins said to the umpire Joe Hardstaff Sr., "fancy being done by a bloody Chinaman". Learie Constantine
is said to have replied: "Do you mean the bowler or the ball?" An unorthodox left-arm spin delivery (spinning from the off side to the leg side
for a right-handed batsman) is known as a "chinaman" as a result. However, Achong was not the earliest recorded Test match player to bowl unorthodox left-arm spin – that is believed to be Charles Llewellyn
of South Africa
. And the connection between Achong and the term "chinaman" is not proven: for an alternative explanation of the term, see left-arm unorthodox spin
.
Achong played in six Test matches for the West Indies against the English cricket team
from 1930 to 1935, three in the West Indies and three in the 1933 tour of England. In all, Achong took eight Test wicket
s at a bowling average
of 47.25, but his Test figures belie his much greater success at regional level in the West Indies. After his last Test match, he continued to play cricket in the Lancashire Leagues until 1951, taking over 1,000 wickets, including 10 in an innings
for Burnley
against Todmorden
in 1945.
He returned to Trinidad and Tobago
in 1952, and stood as a Test umpire in the 4th Test between West Indies and England at Port of Spain in March 1953, a high-scoring draw in which West Indies scored an imposing 681 for 8 declared, with the 3 "W"s (Everton Weekes
, Frank Worrell
and Clyde Walcott
) all scoring centuries
in West Indies' first innings, and Peter May and Denis Compton
doing the same in England's 537 in reply.
Achong ultimately became a sports coach with the Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Education, coaching and selecting the Trinidad and Tobago cricket team
. He died aged 82 in St. Augustine
.
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
in the West Indies. He played cricket for the West Indies and was the first person of Chinese descent to play in a Test match
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...
. Left-arm unorthodox spin
Left-arm unorthodox spin
Left-arm unorthodox spin, or chinaman, is a type of bowling in the sport of cricket using the hand wrist. Left-arm unorthodox spin bowlers use a wrist hand action to spin the ball which turns from off to leg side of the cricket pitch...
(left-arm wrist spin
Leg spin
Leg spin is a type of spin bowling in the sport of cricket. A leg spinner bowls right-arm with a wrist spin action, causing the ball to spin from right to left in the cricket pitch, at the point of delivery. When the ball bounces, the spin causes the ball to deviate sharply from right to left, that...
) is sometimes known as "slow left-arm chinaman" (SLC) which is thought to be in his honour.
Achong was born in Belmont, Port of Spain
Port of Spain
Port of Spain, also written as Port-of-Spain, is the capital of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the country's third-largest municipality, after San Fernando and Chaguanas. The city has a municipal population of 49,031 , a metropolitan population of 128,026 and a transient daily population...
. He played football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
as a left-winger for a local team, Maple, in the 1920s and 1930s, and represented Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago national football team
The Trinidad and Tobago national football team, nicknamed The Soca Warriors, is the national team of Trinidad and Tobago and is run by the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation. It reached the first round of the 2006 FIFA World Cup Finals...
from 1919 to 1932.
Achong is better known for playing cricket. He was mainly a bowler
Bowling (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, bowling is the action of propelling the ball toward the wicket defended by a batsman. A player skilled at bowling is called a bowler; a bowler who is also a competent batsman is known as an all-rounder...
. His stock ball was left-arm orthodox spin
Left-arm orthodox spin
Left-arm orthodox spin is a type of bowling in the sport of cricket.Left-arm orthodox spin is bowled by a left arm bowler using the fingers to spin the ball from right to left of the cricket pitch...
(left-arm finger spin
Off spin
Off spin is a type of bowling in the sport of cricket which is bowled by an off spinner, a right-handed spin bowler who uses his or her fingers and/or wrist to spin the ball from a right-handed batsman's off side to the leg side...
), but one of his variations was unorthodox left-arm spin. After bowling this variation to have Walter Robins
Walter Robins
Robert Walter Vivian Robins was a dynamic English cricketer and footballer.Walter Robins was born in Stafford and was educated at Highgate School and Cambridge University. He played football for Nottingham Forest and first-class cricket for Middlesex, Cambridge University and England...
stump
Stump
In its most general sense, stump is an English word. It may refer to:*Tree stump, the rooted remains of a felled tree*Stump, the remains of a limb after amputation...
ed at Old Trafford in 1933, it is reputed that Robins said to the umpire Joe Hardstaff Sr., "fancy being done by a bloody Chinaman". Learie Constantine
Learie Constantine
Learie Nicholas Constantine, Baron Constantine MBE was a West Indian cricketer who played 18 Test matches before the Second World War. He took West Indies' first wicket in Test cricket and was the team's leading all-rounder and opening bowler for the entirety of his career...
is said to have replied: "Do you mean the bowler or the ball?" An unorthodox left-arm spin delivery (spinning from the off side to the leg side
Leg side
The leg side, or on side, is defined to be a particular half of the field used to play the sport of cricket.From the point of view of a right-handed batsman facing the bowler, it is the left hand side of the cricket field...
for a right-handed batsman) is known as a "chinaman" as a result. However, Achong was not the earliest recorded Test match player to bowl unorthodox left-arm spin – that is believed to be Charles Llewellyn
Charles Llewellyn
Charles Bennett Llewellyn was the first non-white South African Test cricketer.Born out of wedlock in Pietermaritzburg to an English father and a black Saint Helenan mother, the dark-eyed and dark-skinned Llewellyn had an underprivileged upbringing in Natal being considered of mixed blood...
of South Africa
South African cricket team
The South African national cricket team represent South Africa in international cricket. They are administrated by Cricket South Africa.South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council, also known as ICC, with Test and One Day International, or ODI, status...
. And the connection between Achong and the term "chinaman" is not proven: for an alternative explanation of the term, see left-arm unorthodox spin
Left-arm unorthodox spin
Left-arm unorthodox spin, or chinaman, is a type of bowling in the sport of cricket using the hand wrist. Left-arm unorthodox spin bowlers use a wrist hand action to spin the ball which turns from off to leg side of the cricket pitch...
.
Achong played in six Test matches for the West Indies against the English cricket team
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
from 1930 to 1935, three in the West Indies and three in the 1933 tour of England. In all, Achong took eight Test wicket
Wicket
In the sport of cricket the word wicket has several distinct meanings:-Definitions of wicket:Most of the time, the wicket is one of the two sets of three stumps and two bails at either end of the pitch...
s at a bowling average
Bowling average
Bowling average is a statistic measuring the performance of bowlers in the sport of cricket.A bowler's bowling average is defined as the total number of runs conceded by the bowlers divided by the number of wickets taken by the bowler, so the lower the average the better. It is similar to earned...
of 47.25, but his Test figures belie his much greater success at regional level in the West Indies. After his last Test match, he continued to play cricket in the Lancashire Leagues until 1951, taking over 1,000 wickets, including 10 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...
for Burnley
Burnley
Burnley is a market town in the Burnley borough of Lancashire, England, with a population of around 73,500. It lies north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Brun....
against Todmorden
Todmorden
Todmorden is a market town and civil parish, located 17 miles from Manchester, within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. It forms part of the Upper Calder Valley and has a total population of 14,941....
in 1945.
He returned to Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
in 1952, and stood as a Test umpire in the 4th Test between West Indies and England at Port of Spain in March 1953, a high-scoring draw in which West Indies scored an imposing 681 for 8 declared, with the 3 "W"s (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:...
, 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 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...
) all scoring centuries
Century
A century is one hundred consecutive years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages .-Start and end in the Gregorian Calendar:...
in West Indies' first innings, and Peter May and Denis Compton
Denis Compton
Denis Charles Scott Compton CBE was an English cricketer who played in 78 Test matches, and a footballer...
doing the same in England's 537 in reply.
Achong ultimately became a sports coach with the Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Education, coaching and selecting the Trinidad and Tobago cricket team
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 died aged 82 in St. Augustine
Saint Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago
St. Augustine, a town on the East-West Corridor of Trinidad and Tobago, is the site of one of the four campuses of the University of the West Indies. It is located east of Curepe and west of Tunapuna....
.