as the tour proceeded, constantine continued his success; the middlesex game at lord's brought his name to the widest notice in cricket circles. although struggling for fitness, he chose to play knowing that he was a star attraction in this high-profile game. middlesex batted first, and reached 352 before declaring the innings closed—constantine bowled little owing to his injury—and the west indies were struggling at 79 for five when constantine came in to bat. he scored 50 in 18 minutes and reached 86 in under an hour, to avert his side's follow-on. in middlesex's second innings, constantine took seven for 57 in a spell of extremely fast bowling and the county were dismissed for 136. the west indies needed 259 to win; they looked likely to lose when constantine returned to bat with the score 121 for five. he scored 103 in 60 minutes, hitting two sixes and 12 fours and guiding the west indies to a three-wicket victory. for players and spectators this was the defining match of constantine's career; many years later, cricket writer e. w. swanton suggested that there were few all-round performances in the history of cricket to match it. shortly after the game, nelson, a cricket club in the lancashire league, offered constantine a professional contract.