Famous Cricketers No 73 - Sonny Ramadhin

2. Trinidad v Jamaica, Port-of-Spain, February 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 (Match drawn) not out 12 373 29 7 76 4 C.G.Bonitto st S.C.Guillen 204 K.R.Rickards c J.B.Stollmeyer G.H.Mudie c J.B.Stollmeyer N.L.Bonitto b did not bat - 22-3 20 4 49 0 276-4d 1 SEASON’S AVERAGES Batting and Fielding M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct Other matches 2 1 1 12 12* - - - 1 Bowling O M R W BB Ave 5i 10m Other matches 98.5 26 231 12 5-39 19.25 1 - 1950 - West Indians in England When the West Indians invaded England so successfully in 1950, one of the principal heroes was Ramadhin, despite his manifest lack of experience. He was the most feared bowler in the land, taking 135 wickets at less than 15 runs apiece. This was (and still is) the highest number of wickets ever taken by a West Indian bowler on an English tour. With Alfred Valentine, a left-arm spinner from Jamaica, he combined to form one of the most famous bowling partnerships in cricket’s history. Together they wrought havoc throughout the summer, claiming no fewer than 258 wickets between them. In the Tests, they were no less dominant. Valentine took 33 wickets (ave 20.42) and Ramadhin 26 (ave 23.23). Thanks mainly to the exploits of the ‘Spin Twins’ and the ‘Three Terrible Ws’ (Clyde Walcott, Everton Weekes and Frank Worrell), the West Indians won 17 of their 31 first-class matches and lost only 3. They also won the Test series 3-1. Valentine began with 11/204 in the first Test at Manchester and Ramadhin topped that with 11/152 in the second Test at Lord’s. His 6/86 in the second innings on that occasion remained the best by a West Indian bowler in a Test at that venue until Malcolm Marshall recorded 6/32 in 1988. Ramadhin’s match analysis remains a West Indian record in a Test at Lord’s. If Valentine sometimes proved the steadier and the more economical, Ramadhin was often the more dangerous and the more difficult to ‘read’. None of the English batsmen succeeded in mastering them this year. Ramadhin claimed 5 or more wickets in an innings 13 times and 10 or more wickets in a match on no fewer than 6 occasions. At Cheltenham, in August, he was almost unplayable against Gloucestershire when he captured 8/15 in 6.4 overs. This remained his best bowling analysis in a single innings. In that match he also finished with 13/51 which was by far his best analysis up to that point. These figures are still the best by any West Indian bowler against that county. In his 20th match, against Essex at Southend in August, he claimed his 100th wicket in first-class cricket when he bowled ‘Dickie’ Dodds (106). It is also noteworthy that the tourists lost only one of the 21 matches in which Ramadhin participated. With the bat, however, his contribution to the West Indian cause was a meagre 36 runs (ave 5.14). In his fourth first-class match, he finally lost his wicket for the first time when he was caught by Len Hutton off Johnny Wardle for 0 at Bradford in May. Just before he was bowled by Bob Berry for 0 in the second innings of the Old Trafford Test in June, Ramadhin was boasting a career batting average of 29.00, thanks to five not outs in his previous six attempts. Needless to say, he never scaled such heights again. Own Team O M R W Opp Ct Total Total 3. West Indians v Worcestershire, Worcester, May 6, 8, 9 (Match drawn) did not bat - 249-4d 12 3 32 1 D.Kenyon c E.DeC.Weekes 134-4 4. West Indians v Yorkshire, Bradford, May 10, 11 (West Indians won by three wickets) c L.Hutton b J.H.Wardle 0 132 15 4 30 4 F.A.Lowson b 91 H.Halliday st C.L.Walcott J.H.Wardle lbw D.V.Brennan st C.L.Walcott did not bat - 87-7 9 0 30 0 127 5. West Indians v Cambridge University, Fenner’s, May 17, 18, 19 (Match drawn) did not bat - 730-3 20 2 86 0 594-4d 10