Famous Cricketers No 94 - Alfred Lewis Valentine

in their two matches against Barbados and Jamaica. All the bowlers suffered accordingly and Valentine was no exception. Nor was he any more successful against the Duke of Norfolk’s XI. His five wickets in these three games cost 375 runs. When Ivan Madray was caught by J.K.C. Holt off Valentine for 25 at 277/3 in British Guiana’s first innings, the genial left-arm spinner had taken his 300th first-class wicket in his 63rd match. Own Team O M R W Opp Ct Total Total 63. Jamaica v British Guiana, Georgetown, October 11, 12, 13, 15, 16 (Match drawn) b L.R.Gibbs 5 469 90.5 32 165 2 I.S.Madray c J.K.C.Holt 601-5d R.B.Kanhai c A.F.Rae 1 0 1 0 60-1 64. Jamaica v Duke of Norfolk’s XI, Melbourne Park, March 15, 16, 18, 19 (Duke of Norfolk’s XI won by three wickets) c and b A.E.Moss 2 330-9d 23 5 52 1 E.D.R.Eagar b 218 1 b A.E.Moss 0 178 11 0 54 1 R.E.Marshall c A.P.Binns 291-7 65. Jamaica v Duke of Norfolk’s XI, Kingston, March 21, 22, 23, 25, 26 (Duke of Norfolk’s XI won by seven wickets) not out 2 261 5 0 21 1 R.E.Marshall lbw 235 b G.E.Tribe 5 321 29 5 82 0 348-3 SEASON’S AVERAGES Batting and Fielding M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct Other matches 3 5 1 14 5 3.50 - - 1 Career 65 81 20 251 23 4.11 - - 24 Bowling O M R W BB Ave 5i 10m Other matches (6-ball) 159.5 42 375 5 2-165 75.00 - - Career (6-ball) 3016.3 1164 } 7525 304 8-26 24.75 23 5 (8-ball) 537.3 101 1957 – West Indians in England Whereas Ramadhin and Valentine had carried all before them in 1950, they failed to mesmerize the English batsmen on this occasion. Valentine, who captured 33 Test wickets on his first visit to England, now took none at all. His form was so poor that he was dropped for three of the five Test matches and allowed only 26 overs altogether. A serious injury in mid-August also reduced his confidence and effectiveness. As a result, England were able to win the series by the comfortable margin of 3-0. Ramadhin bowled very successfully at Birmingham in the first innings of the initial Test but came to considerable grief in the Test matches thereafter. Of the veteran West Indian batsmen only Frank Worrell enhanced his reputation. Clyde Walcott and Everton Weekes were beset by nagging injuries throughout the summer and the young lions (Roy Gilchrist, Wes Hall, Rohan Kanhai and Garry Sobers) were not yet mature enough to right the Caribbean ship. Against the counties, however, the tourists performed well enough and won 14 of their 31 first-class matches. Valentine, who finished with 60 first-class wickets during the tour, displayed occasional glimpses of his former magic. In May, for instance, he claimed 7/134 from just under 55 steady overs on a batsman’s pitch at Northampton. In early August, he dismissed 5 Surrey batsmen for 47 runs in one innings at The Oval. Two weeks later, he claimed 6 Leicestershire wickets for a meagre 8 runs in a brilliant spell of 13 overs to establish a long-standing West Indian record against that county. In mid-June, in just under 60 overs, he captured 10 Sussex wickets for 150 runs. This earned him a recall to the Test XI, but at Lord’s, in the following week, he bowled three ragged overs for 20 runs while England were accumulating 424. It was this frustrating lack of consistency which prevented Valentine from repeating his wonderful deeds of 1950. 22