Famous Cricketers No 94 - Alfred Lewis Valentine

1964/65 Valentine continued to captain Jamaica during his last season in first-class cricket in which he played only three matches, including two against the touring Cavaliers who were led by Trevor Bailey. He added only four wickets and 16 runs to his tally. Altogether he led Jamaica six times, winning once, drawing twice and losing three matches. He announced his retirement at the end of this season and accepted a position as cricket coach to the Sugar Labour Welfare Board in Jamaica. Own Team O M R W Opp Ct Total Total 123. Jamaica v Cavaliers, Montego Bay, February 4, 5, 6 (Match drawn) * b J.C.Laker 0 214 16 4 51 1 A.P.E.Knott c L.A.King 250-4d did not bat - 249-4d 3 0 5 1 K.W.R.Fletcher c J.L.Hendriks 122-3 124. Jamaica XI v Cavaliers, Kingston, February 13, 15, 16, 17 (Jamaica XI won by 209 runs) not out 1 332 11.3 3 33 2 A.P.E.Knott lbw 189 J.C.Laker c H.A.A.Bennett did not bat - 242-6d 14 9 28 0 176 125. Jamaica v Australians, Kingston, February 24, 25, 26, 27 (Australians won by an innings and 6 runs) * c R.B.Simpson b P.I.Philpott11 340 16 1 81 0 547-5d not out 4 201 SEASON’S AVERAGES Batting and Fielding M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct Other matches 3 4 2 16 11 8.00 - - - Career 125 142 48 470 24* 5.00 - - 45 Bowling O M R W BB Ave 5i 10m Other matches 60.3 17 198 4 2-33 49.50 - - Career (6-ball) 4459.4 1583 } 12451 475 8-26 26.21 32 6 (8-ball) 914.2 177 Summary Alfred Valentine’s first-class cricket career stretched from January 1950 to February 1965 and encompassed 125 matches, including 36 Tests. For Jamaica he played 26 matches and represented the West Indies on 95 occasions altogether. He captured 475 wickets at just over 26 runs each and took 139 Test wickets at an average cost of 30.32 runs apiece. He combined with Trinidad’s Sonny Ramadhin to form one of the most famous spin bowling combinations in cricket’s history. They were the first two West Indians to exceed 100 Test wickets and Valentine has still taken more than any other West Indian left-arm spinner. His 475 first-class wickets long remained a Jamaican record. He took 10 wickets in a match on 6 occasions and 32 times removed five or more batsmen in a single innings. His best match analysis was 13/67 against Lancashire at Manchester in June1950 when his finest performance in a single innings yielded 8/26. He made his Test début against England at Manchester in June 1950 and played his final Test against India at Kingston in April 1962. At the Test match level, he captured 5 or more wickets eight times in a single innings and twice claimed 10 or more in a match. His best Test match analysis was 11/204 on his début when he dismissed the first eight batsmen he faced. In that innings, he took 8/104 which long prevailed as a West Indian record on English soil. Although it is almost 40 years since Valentine retired from first-class cricket, a number of his Jamaican and West Indian records still stand. As a batsman, Valentine remained a rabbit throughout his career and ended with an average of 5.00 runs per innings. He twice reached 24 runs in a single innings but never bettered that mark. In his 36 Tests, he scored 141 runs (av: 4.70). His highest Test score was 14. As a fieldsman, he held 45 catches, including 13 in Test cricket. He ended his career as captain of Jamaica but did not have much success in that role. 31