Hal Hooker

John Edward Halford "Hal" Hooker (6 March 1898 – 12 February 1982) was an Australian first class cricketer who played for New South Wales. A tall fast-medium bowler, he stood at 6 ft and was capable of swinging the ball both ways.

Hal Hooker

Hooker on a 1928 cigarette card
Personal information
Full name	John Edward Halford Hooker
Born	(1898-03-06)6 March 1898 Summer Hill, Queensland, Australia
Died	12 February 1982(1982-02-12) (aged 83) Winmalee, New South Wales, Australia
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm fast medium
Role	Bowler
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1924/25–1931/32	New South Wales
Career statistics
Competition First-class Matches 23 Runs scored 421 Batting average 20.04 100s/50s 0/3 Top score 62 Balls bowled 5,857 Wickets 87 Bowling average 28.50 5 wickets in innings 4 10 wickets in match 1 Best bowling 6/42 Catches/stumpings 12/–
Source: CricketArchive, 8 January 2008

In 1928/29 he became the first player to take four wickets in successive balls in a Sheffield Shield match.

He is the holder of the world record 10th wicket stand in first class cricket, making 307 with Alan Kippax.^[1] Coming in at number 11, Hooker batted for almost five hours and made 62.

After retiring from cricket Hooker became a sports broadcaster. In 1946, he was reporting for the BBC Light Programme on the 1946–47 Ashes series.^[2]