Wilton St Hill - Personality, Style and Technique

Personality, Style and Technique

C. L. R. James described St Hill as "about six feet or a little under, slim, wiry, with forearms like whipcord. His face was bony, with small sharp eyes and a thin, tight mouth." A reserved man, Hill kept his opinions to himself. Off the cricket field, James described him as partial to the "good things of life".

St Hill was one of the first successful black batsmen in West Indies. As a batsmen, St Hill's performances reached their highest standards on the biggest occasions and against the best bowlers. Although not possessing quick footwork, he was capable of quickly judging where the ball would land. This enabled him to get into position quickly gave him extra time to play shots, which he often delayed until the ball was very close to him. Many of his runs were hit behind point and square leg. St Hill's favourite stroke was the leg glance; the shot carried the risk of falling leg before wicket (lbw) if he missed but his placement was very precise. He also played a range of cut shots. If a bowler restricted his scoring, St Hill improvised attacking shots to break free. Learie Constantine wrote a description of an innings he saw St Hill play as a young man. Facing the fast bowling of George John, St Hill "flicked his wrists and the ball flew to the boundary faster than sound. The next went the same way. The boy batted from his wrists; he never seemed to use any force. I don't believe he had the strength even if he so desired. His was just perfect timing." However, he always insisted on playing his own style of game, whether he was in form or not. The result was often his dismissal without scoring many runs. This was the case in England in 1928. After 1926, St Hill was never the same batsman and according to James was as likely to get out cheaply as he was to make a big score.

St Hill possessed a presence which compelled attention when he was batting. James wrote: "Fires burned in St Hill and you could always see them glow." When playing for Shannon, he insisted on the highest standards, and even though he was not captain, he would take over if the game was going against his team. James also wrote that he never understood St Hill as he did others: "His eyes used to blaze when he was discussing a point with you; but even within his clipped sentences there were intervals when he seemed to be thinking of other things, far removed."

St Hill's batting success was significant for many in cricket. Writer Grant Farred observed: "In St Hill the masses that watched the game ... saw a vision created in which anger and resentment at the 'pervading humiliation' they suffered was distilled into a finely tuned batsman." At the time, black Trinidadians had no democratic outlet for their feelings and opinions. Fared writes that St Hill's batting "represented a victory over the forces that held sway over this community's life in all other walks of life". St Hill's many followers in Trinidad identified with his successes and his ability to compete with equality on the cricket field as a sign that they successfully take part in other aspects of life which had been closed to them.