Joseph Stanislaus Solomon (born 26 August 1930) is a former international

cricketer Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

who played 27

Test matches Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

for the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

from 1958 to 1965, scoring 1,326 runs, mainly from number six and seven in the batting line-up.

Life and career

Solomon was born in

Port Mourant Port Mourant is a town on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast in East Berbice-Corentyne, Guyana. It is the birthplace of the late president Cheddi Jagan as well as many of Guyana's most famous Cricket, cricketers. Port Mourant was originally a suga ...

Berbice Berbice is a region along the Berbice River in Guyana, which was between 1627 and 1792 a colony of the Dutch West India Company and between 1792 to 1815 a colony of the Dutch state. After having been ceded to the United Kingdom of Great Britain ...

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first European to encounter Guiana was S ...

(now

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

). He is the only player in

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

history to score hundreds in his first three innings, for

in 1956–57 and 1957–58. He was selected to tour India in 1958–59 with the West Indies team. He was successful in the Test series, scoring a century in the Fifth Test at

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

and finishing with 351 runs at an average of 117.00. He was less successful in later series, but he often batted steadily when the need was greatest. He also bowled occasional leg-breaks, but was best known as a brilliant fieldsman. In the first Tied Test in 1960, his throw from square-leg hit the stumps directly to run out

Ian Meckiff Ian Meckiff (born 6 January 1935) is a former cricketer who represented Australia national cricket team, Australia in 18 test cricket, Test matches between 1957 and 1963. A left-arm Fast bowling, fast bowler, he is best known for two matters tha ...

, who was going for the winning run. In the next Test, he was out

hit wicket Hit wicket is a method of dismissal in the sport of cricket. This method of dismissal is governed by Law 35 of the Laws of Cricket. The striker is out "hit wicket" if, after the bowler has entered his delivery stride and while the ball is in pla ...

after his cap fell on the stumps. He toured England in

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

and

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

. He played first-class cricket for British Guiana/Guyana from 1956–57 to 1968–69. His highest first-class score was 201

not out In cricket, a batter is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batter is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress. Occurrence At least one batter is not out at t ...

for

against the touring MCC in March 1960, when he added an unbroken partnership of 290 with

Basil Butcher Basil Fitzherbert Butcher (3 September 1933 – 16 December 2019) was a Guyanese cricketer who played for the West Indies cricket team. He was regarded as a reliable right-handed middle-order batsman in the star-studded West Indian batting line- ...

. Solomon continued to serve Guyanese cricket in various capacities after his retirement from playing, including the presidency of the Guyana Cricket Board and several years as a selector. He was awarded the Golden Arrow of Achievement by the government of Guyana. He and his wife Betty had six children. He has lived in New York since 1984, travelling back to Guyana once a year. He is the oldest living West Indies Test cricketer.

Life and career

References

External links

Further reading