by Arunabha Sengupta

17 May 1955. Kensington Oval, Barbados.
Keith Miller and Ray Lindwall had thus far terrorised the West Indian batsmen with the new ball, with Ron Archer lending an excellent supporting hand. Today, however, they turned on the hosts with their bats.
Miller 137, Lindwall 80 not out by the end of the day in an innings that would amount to 118, Archer 98. By the end of the day Australia were 569 for 8.

The Test would be saved by a world record partnership of 347 between Denis Atkinson and Clairemont Depeiaza. However, the frustrated crowd did not know that on that fateful day.
Their frustrations had been aggravated in no small manner by John Holt, the Jamaican opening batsman, who had dropped more than his fair share of sitters in the slips. Soon, placards went up and chants were heard around the ground: “Hang Holt, save Hylton.”

That was the day that another Jamaican, Leslie Hylton, was scheduled to be hanged to death.

During his playing days, Hylton formed a fantastic fast-bowling collaboration with colleagues Learie Constantine and Manny Martindale. Arguably, they were the best pace attack of the world after the Bodyline brigade was disbanded in 1932-33. His 13 wickets in his debut series against England in 1934-35 came at 19.30, as the three fast men captured 47 of the 64 English wickets enabling the young Test team to tie the series 1-1.
Hylton toured England as well, just before the War. He captured 39 wickets on the tour at 27.71. By then, though, he was past his prime. He had served Jamaica long and well for nearly a dozen years.

He retired from First-Class cricket the same year and settled into a life of civil service as a foreman.
The next year Hylton fell in love with Lurline Rose, the daughter of the Inspector of Police in Jamaica. They married in spite of the considerable unwillingness on the part of the Inspector, arising from the supposed difference in status and class. Five years later a son was born.

Things took a disastrous turn in 1954. Lurline made frequent trips to New York City to cater to her dressmaking business. That April, Hylton received an anonymous letter with explicit details about his wife’s supposed illicit relationship with Roy Francis of Brooklyn Avenue.
A perturbed Hylton dispatched an immediate telegram summoning Lurline back. After some initial stalling, Lurline did return and denied any infidelity. Francis was dismissed as a casual acquaintance. Daily Gleaner reported that “the matter was settled in true matrimonial form.”
However, Hylton soon got wind of letters his wife was sending to Francis. He awoke his wife at night and charged her with infidelity. Lurline confessed and launched into an outburst, saying that Hylton did not belong to the same class as she, he had never made her happy and the very sight of him made her sick. She proceeded to swear allegiance to Roy and, by some accounts, even disrobed to show him what he would be missing.
Hylton, blinded by fury, reached for his gun on the window sill. In the trial that followed, he tried to defend himself by saying that he had tried to shoot himself and missed, in the process shooting his wife. However, it rang thin since there were seven bullets lodged in Lurline’s body.

Hylton was defended by reputed lawyers — Vivian Blake and Noel Nethersole. The latter, in fact, was his former captain for Jamaica. However, the jury unanimously found him guilty.

On 17 May 1955 Hylton was hanged to death. He remains the only Test cricketer to have been executed.