West Indies cricket’s super spin bowler, <PERSON>, dies at 92 · Global Voices
Phot of the late Trinidadian spin bowler <PERSON>, who passed away in England on February 27. 2022. Screenshot taken from a YouTube video of a Trinidad and Tobago Television (TTT) news report entitled ‘Cricket – West Indies Pays Tribute To Sonny Ramadhin.’
The year was 1950. <PERSON>, a prodigious, right-armed spin bowler of East Indian descent — the first player of his ethnicity to be chosen for the West Indies cricket team — was about to make history. At just 21 years old, the Trinidadian had recently made his test cricket debut on June 8 at Old Trafford cricket ground. Just 12 days later, his impressive teamwork with fellow spin bowler <PERSON>, and the powerful batting of the legendary “three Ws” (<PERSON>, <PERSON> and <PERSON>) would help usher in the West Indies’ first win against England at Lord’s. The team would go on to win the entire test cricket series, their first away from the Caribbean.
News of <PERSON>'s death, on February 27 at the age of 92, hit cricket fans hard, as he was the last surviving member of that team. His grandson, <PERSON>, a retired cricketer himself, posted on Twitter:
Sad day – great innings grandad https://t.co/5Q04tNwagU
— <PERSON> (@kylehogg22) February 27, 2022
His cricketing career was a stellar one, with impressive statistics — 158 wickets in 43 tests matches — but no one, especially not London's West Indian immigrant community, would ever forget <PERSON>'s sparkling debut. His bowling performance, in tandem with <PERSON>, even inspired a popular tune by Lord <PERSON>, “Victory Calypso,” which made mention of “those two little pals of mine, <PERSON> and <PERSON>”.
On learning of his passing, Cricket West Indies president <PERSON> offered condolences, calling <PERSON> “one of the great pioneers” of the sport in the region:
Many stories are told of his tremendous feats [as part of] cricket’s ‘spin twins’ [when] West Indies conquered England away from home for the first time. 641
This iconic tour is part of our rich cricket legacy […] we salute <PERSON> for his outstanding contribution to West Indies cricket.
Part of <PERSON>'s legacy as a pioneer lies in the fact that his presence on the team broke a colour barrier. In an interview with the UK Guardian in 2020, he said:
I felt very proud, because Indians didn’t have much chance in those days. It was only white or black players, but I opened the doors. After me there were a lot of good ones who made it.
From Guyana, the Berbice Cricket Board confirmed that <PERSON> had paved the way for other players of Indian ethnicity to have successful careers with the West Indies cricket team.
Trinidadian politician <PERSON> added:
[B]y his living example, he showed us all then, and now, how ethnic, geographic, religious and class differences can be overcome through hard work, discipline, motivation and a desire to be the greatest in your chosen field.
<PERSON>, Trinidad and Tobago's minister of sport and community development, remembered <PERSON> as “a dominant force through his ability to turn the ball both ways”:
He has proudly represented this country and has inspired many cricketers and sports aficionados, both nationally and internationally. He was indeed a great cricket legend.
<PERSON> was born on May 1, 1929, in the southern village of Esperance. The son of Indian indentured workers, his parents died when he was just two years old, leaving him to be raised by other family members. By the time he was 13, he was working at the Palmiste sugar estate, where the overseer would, as the story goes, often give him the job of preparing the cricket pitch. This nurtured his love for the game and it was here that he honed his skills, eventually trying out for the West Indies team during trial runs in 1948; he was selected the following year. A park in the Palmiste area, where <PERSON> found his cricketing roots, has a statue in his honour.
Friends, colleagues and admirers remembered the great spin bowler as “humble and pleasant,” and ever passionate about the sport, even after he was dropped for <PERSON> in the middle of the West Indies’ 1960 test against Australia. 357