William Vicente Rodriguez (born 25 June 1934) is a former

West Indian A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). For more than 100 years the words ''West Indian'' specifically described natives of the West Indies, but by 1661 Europeans had begun to use it ...

cricket 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 ...

er who played in five

Tests Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

from 1962 to 1968. Rodriguez was born in

St Clair, Port of Spain Saint Clair is a quiet, spacious, and upscale business and residential district between the Queen's Park Savannah and the Maraval River in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. It is home to most of the city's grandest and largest mansions and also h ...

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

. After three first-class matches for

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

over five seasons, which included a century against the touring Pakistanis in 1957–58, Rodriguez was selected to tour India and Pakistan with the West Indian team in 1958–59. Apart from figures of 7 for 90 against

Indian Universities The higher education system in India includes both private and public universities. Public universities are supported by the Government of India and the state governments, while private universities are mostly supported by various bodies and ...

he had little success with bat or ball, and did not play in any of the Tests. He played in the Second and Fourth Tests against India in 1961–62, scoring 50 and taking 3 for 51 with his leg-spin in the Fourth Test at Port of Spain. His tour of England in 1963 was hampered by a cartilage injury, but after making 93 in over four hours as an opener against Yorkshire he was selected to replace

Joey Carew Michael Conrad "Joey" Carew (15 September 1937 – 8 January 2011) was a West Indian cricketer who played in 19 Tests from 1963 to 1972. An opening batsman and off-spin bowler Carew's sole Test century came against New Zealand at Eden Park i ...

as an opener in the Fifth Test, and made 5 and 28. He played in the Fifth Test against Australia in 1964–65, but without success. From this point in his first-class career his batting fell away while his bowling improved: from 1965–66 to 1969–70 he made 507 runs at 18.10 with only one fifty, but took 69 wickets at 22.21, taking five or more wickets in an innings seven times. For Trinidad against the touring MCC in 1967–68 he took 6 for 51, and he replaced

David Holford David Anthony Jerome Holford (16 April 1940 – 30 May 2022) was a West Indian cricketer who played in 24 Test matches between 1966 and 1977. Career Holford was born on 16 April 1940 at Upper Collymore Rock, Saint Michael, Barbados, and was ...

for the Fourth Test. He took four wickets, but England won, and he was replaced by Holford. He took 5 for 42 against Windward Islands and 6 for 30 against Barbados in 1968–69, and in 1969–70, his last season, 5 for 12 against Guyana and 5 for 76 against Jamaica. All four performances were at Trinidad's home ground of Port of Spain. In all first-class matches at Port of Spain he took 67 wickets at 22.86. Rodriguez also played football and represented the British Caribbean Football Association touring side in 1959.

Crystal Palace F.C. Crystal Palace Football Club is a professional football club based in Selhurst in the Borough of Croydon, South London, England, who compete in the Premier League, the highest level of English football. Although formally created as a profes ...

described him as "a very versatile player specialising at Back and Centre Half (Stopper). Balanced, cultured, and an artist in the use of the ball, he is a model of constructive full back play." He managed the West Indies cricket team that toured Australasia in 1979–80. The Australian leg of the tour was a success, but the New Zealand series, which New Zealand won 1–0, was marred by poor on-field behaviour by some West Indian players and poor decisions by the New Zealand umpires. Rodriguez complained publicly about the umpiring, claiming that it was heavily biased towards the New Zealanders. R.T. Brittenden, "The West Indians in New Zealand, 1979–80", ''Wisden'' 1981, p. 957.

References

External links

Willie Rodriguez at Cricket Archive

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Willie 1934 births Living people West Indies Test cricketers Cricketers from Port of Spain Trinidad and Tobago cricketers North Trinidad cricketers Association football defenders Trinidad and Tobago footballers