The English cricket team in the West Indies in 1953–54 played five

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) ...

, five other

first-class matches 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 ...

and seven other games, three of them on a two-week stop-over in

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that included Christmas. Ultimately the tour could be considered a success for England in cricketing terms, as they came back from 2–0 down to draw the series 2–2 against strong opposition. However the tour had its problems, both on and off the field. The West Indians were disappointed by the English party's reluctance to socialise and the defensive nature of much of their cricket. The English players were dissatisfied with the quality of some of the umpiring. There was crowd trouble at two of the Tests.

Tony Lock Graham Anthony Richard Lock (5 July 1929 – 30 March 1995) was an English cricketer, who played primarily as a left-arm spinner. He played in forty nine Tests for England taking 174 wickets at 25.58 each. Lock took 2,844 first-class wickets ...

was called for

throwing Throwing is an action which consists in accelerating a projectile and then releasing it so that it follows a ballistic trajectory, usually with the aim of impacting a remote target. This action is best characterized for animals with prehensile l ...

in the first Test.

English team

The team of 16 selected by MCC for the tour was arguably the strongest available. It was the first England touring team in modern times to be led by a professional captain. The team was: *

Leonard Hutton Sir Leonard Hutton (23 June 1916 – 6 September 1990) was an English cricketer. He played as an opening batsman for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1934 to 1955 and for England in 79 Test matches between 1937 and 1955. ''Wisden Cricketers ...

, captain *

Charles Palmer Charles Palmer may refer to: * Charles Palmer (1777–1851), Member of Parliament for Bath * Sir Charles Palmer, 1st Baronet (1822–1907), English shipbuilder, businessman and Liberal Member of Parliament, 1874–1907 * Sir Charles Palmer, 2nd Ba ...

, player/manager *

Trevor Bailey Trevor Edward Bailey (3 December 1923 – 10 February 2011) was an England Test cricketer, cricket writer and broadcaster. An all-rounder, Bailey was known for his skilful but unspectacular batting. As the BBC reflected in his obituary: "His ...

Denis Compton Denis Charles Scott Compton (23 May 1918 – 23 April 1997) was an English multi-sportsman. As a cricketer he played in 78 Test matches and spent his whole cricket career with Middlesex. As a footballer, he played as a winger and spent most o ...

Godfrey Evans Thomas Godfrey Evans (18 August 1920 – 3 May 1999) was an English cricketer who played for Kent and England. Described by ''Wisden'' as 'arguably the best wicket-keeper the game has ever seen', Evans collected 219 dismissals in 91 Test match ...

, wicketkeeper *

Tom Graveney Thomas William Graveney (16 June 1927 – 3 November 2015) was an English first-class cricketer, representing his country in 79 Test matches and scoring over 4,800 runs. In a career lasting from 1948 to 1972, he became the 15th player to score ...

Jim Laker James Charles Laker (9 February 1922 – 23 April 1986) was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey County Cricket Club from 1946 to 1959 and represented England in 46 Test matches. He was born in Shipley, West Riding of York ...

Peter May Peter May may refer to: *Peter W. May, American businessman *Peter May (cricketer) (1929–1994), English Test cricketer *Peter May (writer) Peter May (born 20 December 1951) is a Scottish television screenwriter, novelist, and crime writer. H ...

Alan Moss Alan Edward Moss (14 November 1930 – 12 March 2019) was an English cricketer, who played in nine Tests for England from 1954 to 1960. The cricket writer, Colin Bateman, opined, "Alan Moss was a thoughtful, enthusiastic swing bowler who, giv ...

Dick Spooner Richard Thompson Spooner (30 December 1919 – 20 December 1997) was an English cricketer who played for Warwickshire and England. A latecomer who did not play first-class cricket until he was 28, Spooner was a quick-witted left-handed batsman ...

, wicketkeeper *

Brian Statham John Brian Statham, (17 June 1930 – 10 June 2000) was an English professional cricketer from Gorton, in Manchester, who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club from 1950 to 1968 and for England from 1951 to 1965.Ken Suttle Kenneth George Suttle (25 August 1928 – 25 March 2005) was an English cricketer. Cricket career Ken Suttle was primarily a left-handed batsman but was also a useful slow left-arm bowler. His first-class career with Sussex lasted from 1949 ...

Fred Trueman Frederick Sewards Trueman, (6 February 1931 – 1 July 2006) was an English cricketer who played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club and the England cricket team. He had professional status and later became an author and broadcaster. Acknowled ...

Johnny Wardle Johnny Wardle (8 January 1923 – 23 July 1985) was an English spin bowling cricketer whose Test Match career lasted between 1948 and 1957. His Test bowling average of 20.39 is the lowest in Test cricket by any recognised spin bowler since ...

* Willie Watson Only Palmer, Moss and Suttle had not played Test cricket before the tour, and only Suttle did not play in any of the Tests on the tour.

West Indian team

The West Indies had played a home five-Test series against the Indians early in 1953, winning the series by 1–0 with four matches drawn. Of the team that played India, Allan Rae had retired and wicketkeeper Ralph Legall was not chosen for any of the Tests against England. The following existing Test players were selected in the sides to play England: *

Jeff Stollmeyer Jeffrey Baxter Stollmeyer (11 March 1921 – 10 September 1989) was a Trinidad and Tobago cricketer who played as an opening batsman. He played 32 Test matches for the West Indies, captaining 13 of these. He was also a senator. Cricket career ...

, captain *

Robert Christiani Robert Julian Christiani (19 July 1920 – 4 January 2005) was a West Indian cricketer who played in 22 Tests from 1947–48 to 1953–54. At domestic level he played first-class cricket for British Guiana. Christiani played his first Test in ...

Gerry Gomez Gerry Ethridge Gomez (10 October 1919 – 6 August 1996) was a cricketer who played 29 Test matches for the West Indies cricket team between 1939 and 1954, scoring 1,243 runs and taking 58 wickets. He captained in one match for the West Indies ...

* Frank King *

Bruce Pairaudeau Bruce Hamilton Pairaudeau (14 April 1931 – 9 October 2022) was a West Indian cricketer who played in 13 Test matches between 1953 and 1957. Born in British Guiana, he moved to New Zealand in the late 1950s. Early life Pairaudeau was born i ...

Sonny Ramadhin Sonny Ramadhin, Chaconia Medal, CM (1 May 1929 – 27 February 2022) was a West Indian cricket team, West Indian cricketer, and was a dominant bowler of the 1950s. He was the first of many West Indian cricketers of Indo-Trinidadian, Indian orig ...

Alf Valentine Alfred Louis Valentine (28 April 1930 – 11 May 2004) was a West Indies cricket team, West Indian cricketer in the 1950s and 1960s. He is most famous for his performance in the West Indies' 1950 tour of England cricket team, England, which was ...

Clyde Walcott Sir Clyde Leopold Walcott KA, GCM, OBE (17 January 1926 – 26 August 2006) was a West Indian cricketer. Walcott was a member of the "three W's", the other two being Everton Weekes and Frank Worrell: all were very successful batsmen from Bar ...

Everton Weekes Sir Everton DeCourcy Weekes, KCMG, GCM, OBE (26 February 19251 July 2020) was a cricketer from Barbados. A right-handed batsman, he was known as one of the hardest hitters in world cricket. Weekes holds the record for consecutive Test hundre ...

Frank Worrell Sir Frank Mortimer Maglinne Worrell (1 August 1924 – 13 March 1967), sometimes referred to by his nickname of Tae, was a West Indies cricketer and Jamaican senator. A stylish right-handed batsman and useful left-arm seam bowler, he became fam ...

In addition, four players who had played in earlier Test series were recalled: *

Denis Atkinson Denis St Eval Atkinson (9 August 1926 – 9 November 2001) was a West Indian cricketer who played 22 Test matches as an all-rounder, hitting 922 runs and taking 47 wickets. He also played first-class cricket for Barbados and Trinidad. Atkinson ...

Wilfred Ferguson Wilfred Ferguson (14 December 1917 – 23 February 1961) was a West Indian cricketer who played in eight Tests from 1947-48 to 1953–54. He played first-class cricket for Trinidad from 1943 to 1956. Career Ferguson was a leg-spin bowler and h ...

George Headley George Alphonso Headley OD, MBE (30 May 1909 – 30 November 1983) was a West Indian cricketer who played 22 Test matches, mostly before World War II. Considered one of the best batsmen to play for the West Indies and one of the greatest crick ...

Esmond Kentish Esmond Seymour Maurice Kentish (21 November 1916 – 10 June 2011) was a West Indies cricket team, West Indian international cricketer who played in two Test cricket, Test matches from English cricket team in West Indies in 1947-48, 1948 to Engl ...

The West Indies introduced four players new to Test cricket during the series: * Michael Frederick * John Holt (Jr) *

Cliff McWatt Clifford Aubrey McWatt (1 February 1922 – 20 July 1997) was a West Indian cricketer who played in six Tests in 1954 and 1955. A wicket-keeper The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behi ...

, wicketkeeper *

Garfield Sobers Sir Garfield St Aubrun Sobers, (born 28 July 1936), also known as Sir Gary or Sir Garry Sobers, is a former cricketer who played for the West Indies between 1954 and 1974. A highly skilled bowler, an aggressive batsman and an excellent fielder, ...

Test series summary

Five Test matches were played. The West Indies won the first two, England the third. The fourth match was left drawn after six days and England won the fifth and final match to draw the series.

First Test

The West Indies introduced three new players – Frederick, Holt and McWatt – and recalled Headley and Kentish. In so doing, Headley became the oldest cricketer to play for West Indies. With consistent batting, West Indies made 417, with five players reaching 50 and Holt top-scoring with 94. After Holt was out, adjudged lbw, the wife and son of the umpire,

Perry Burke R. C. "Perry" Burke (born c.1920) is a former West Indies cricket umpire from Jamaica. He stood in six Test matches between 1954 and 1960. Overall, he umpired 14 first-class matches, all of them in Kingston, Jamaica, between 1948 and 1960. Dur ...

, were attacked in the crowd, though they were not seriously hurt. England's reply was woeful, Ramadhin and Valentine taking seven wickets in a total of 170 all out. West Indies captain Stollmeyer was booed by the crowd for not enforcing the

follow-on In the game of cricket, a team who batted second and scored significantly fewer runs than the team who batted first may be forced to follow-on: to take their second innings immediately after their first. The follow-on can be enforced by the team ...

, and he declared at 209 for six wickets, setting England 457 to win. At 277 for two, with Watson making a century, the game looked even. But England lost seven wickets for eight runs and were all out for 316, Kentish taking five wickets for 49 runs. Lock was no-balled for

, the first such instance in a Test match since Ernie Jones at

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

for

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

against England in 1897–98.

Second Test

Walcott scored 220 out of a first-innings total of 383. England then batted painfully slowly, taking 150 overs to make 181 runs. Stollmeyer again did not enforce the follow-on: Holt made a maiden Test century, 166 out of a total of 292 for two declared. Needing 495 to win, England reached 258 for three before another collapse left them all out for 313.

Third Test

England batted first and made 435 through Hutton's 169 and consistent batting from the others. Though Weekes made 94 and McWatt and the injured Holt added 99 for the eighth wicket, West Indies were all out for 251. The crowd threw bottles and other objects when McWatt was adjudged run out, but Hutton refused to take his players from the pitch. Following on, West Indies fared little better, scoring 256 and leaving England just 73 to win. Moss, who made his debut in the first Test, took five wickets.

Fourth Test

On a batsman's wicket, the sides took the first five days to complete the first two innings. West Indies' 681 for eight declared was the highest score by a West Indies cricket team: Weekes made 206, Worrell 167 and Walcott 124. England made 537 in reply, with centuries from May and Compton and 92 from Graveney. The game petered out on the sixth day.

Fifth Test

West Indies, winning the toss, were bowled out for 139 on what had appeared to be a perfect pitch for batting. Bailey took seven wickets for 34 runs, his best Test return. England's reply of 414 was based on a double century for Hutton and some later hitting by Wardle. Facing arrears of 275, West Indies lost wickets consistently, and though Walcott made his third century of the series, England needed just 72 to win. The match was the Test debut of Sobers, aged 17: he scored 14 not out and 26 and took four wickets.

Other matches

The MCC team played five first-class matches, winning against

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

, British Guiana (Guyana) and

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 ...

and drawing a second match against Jamaica. * In the match against Barbados, in which MCC recorded their first victory for 50 years, Suttle top-scored in both MCC innings, but still failed to be picked for the Tests. He never played for England. * In the match against British Guiana, Watson scored 257 and Graveney 231 as MCC made 607. Their fourth wicket stand of 402 is, as of 2012, the 14th highest of all fourth wicket partnerships 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 ...

. In minor matches, MCC won one and drew two in Bermuda, won one and drew one in Jamaica, beat the

Leeward Islands french: Îles-Sous-le-Vent , image_name = , image_caption = ''Political'' Leeward Islands. Clockwise: Antigua and Barbuda, Guadeloupe, Saint kitts and Nevis. , image_alt = , locator_map = , location = Caribbean SeaNorth Atlantic Ocean , coor ...

and drew with the

Windward Islands french: Îles du Vent , image_name = , image_caption = ''Political'' Windward Islands. Clockwise: Dominica, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada. , image_alt = , locator_map = , location = Caribbean SeaNorth ...

, the latter two teams not being first-class in 1954.

Issues arising from the tour

Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...

1955 edition reported that the tour was beset by controversy. Billed as a kind of world championship, the Test series was subject to much partisanship on the part of both West Indians and English expatriates; umpiring decisions added to the controversy, with the MCC team feeling hard done by over several decisions by local umpires and the crowds reacting with violence over two decisions that went England's way in the First and Third Tests. Wisden recommended that the West Indies draw up a panel of umpires from all the countries rather than using local umpires in each match. But it also had harsh words for England players whose dissent was made public, and also for the excessive caution of the England team in the Second Test. The experiment of using a player-manager on a controversial tour, Wisden said, was also "not to be commended".

References

External sources

England in West Indies, 1953-54
at

Cricinfo ESPN cricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including liveblogs and scorecards), and ''StatsGuru'', a d ...

CricketArchive – tour itinerary

{{DEFAULTSORT:English cricket team in West Indies in 1953-54 1953-54 International cricket competitions from 1945–46 to 1960 West Indian cricket seasons from 1945–46 to 1969–70 Cricket controversies 1954 in English cricket 1954 in West Indian cricket

English team

West Indian team

Test series summary

First Test

Second Test

Third Test

Fourth Test

Fifth Test

Other matches

Issues arising from the tour

References

Further reading

External sources