Rupert Paul Tang Choon (31 May 1914 – 5 September 1985) was a cricketer who played

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

for

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

from 1934 to 1955.

All-rounder, 1934-35 to 1942-43

Tang Choon played the first part of his career as a leg-spinning all-rounder. In his fourth first-class match, against

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

in the

Inter-Colonial Tournament The Inter-Colonial Tournament was the main first class cricket, first class cricket competition in the West Indian cricket team, West Indies held between 1892–93 and 1938-39. Competing teams * Barbados national cricket team, Barbados * Guya ...

in 1935-36, he made 72 and 2 batting at number eight, and took 6 for 123 and 3 for 131 in a 36-run victory for Trinidad. In 1938, for R.S. Grant's XI against

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies. It was located on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first known Europeans to encounter Guia ...

, he took 3 for 13 and 5 for 81 to help his side to an innings victory. His highest score in this period was 83, batting at number seven against Barbados in 1940-41. He "came near to being chosen to tour England with the 1939 West Indian side" but the leg-spinners Bertie Clarke and John Cameron were preferred. He played for North Trinidad in the Beaumont Cup from 1934-35 to 1951-52, in the days before the matches had first-class status. In the 1934-35 match he took 8 for 32.

Batsman, 1943-44 to 1954-55

Tang Choon seldom bowled after the 1942-43 season, taking only one wicket during the rest of his first-class career. His batting improved, however. In his two matches in 1944-45 he scored his first century, 132, 40 and 83. Against MCC in 1947-48, batting now at number five, he scored 103, adding 244 for the fourth wicket in three and a half hours with Gerry Gomez. "A neat, lithe batsman, Tang Choon gave a truly brilliant display," noted ''

Wisden ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "Bible of cricket" (or variations thereof) has been applied to ''Wi ...

''. However, he scored only 7 and 17 in Trinidad's second match against MCC shortly afterwards. He captained Trinidad in both their matches in 1951-52. He scored 104 and 47 not out against British Guiana in 1953-54, his third and last century. He played his last first-class match in 1954-55 against the

Australians Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizenship, citizens, nationality, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Aust ...

when he was 40 years old.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tang Choon, Rupert 1914 births 1985 deaths Trinidad and Tobago cricketers Trinidad and Tobago people of Chinese descent Hakka sportspeople Sportspeople of Chinese descent