Sonny Ramadhin
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Sonny Ramadhin, CM (1 May 1929 – 27 February 2022) was a
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 ...
cricketer, and was a dominant bowler of the 1950s. He was the first of many West Indian cricketers of
Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...
origin, and was one of the five
Wisden Cricketers of the Year The ''Wisden'' Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season". The award began in 1889 with the naming ...
in 1951. He is most famous for his performance in the West Indies' 1950 tour of England, which was immortalised in the song "Victory Calypso". He was also well known for his ability to turn the ball both ways and he was also largely known for using three short-legs along with close in fielders on the off-side during his playing days in order to exert more pressure on the batsmen. He was referred to as "a small neat man whose shirt-sleeves were always buttoned at the wrist". He was the last surviving member of the 1950 West Indies team that secured the West Indies' first-ever Test series win in England.


Biography

Ramadhin was born in Esperance Village, near San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago, in 1929. He had no first name on his birth certificate; instead he was referred as "boy" in the birth certificate, and he later adapted his nickname "Sonny" as his first name. He was introduced to cricket at the Canadian Mission School in Duncan Village, but did not bowl while in school. Under the captaincy and coaching of Oscar Roach, who was also born in Esperance Village, he later played for the Palmiste Club and the Trinidad Leaseholds team. It is also believed that Ramadhin developed his spin bowling under Oscar Roach.


Career


Breakthrough 1950 England tour

His trials for the West Indian team were two first-class matches bowling for Trinidad versus
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 ...
, where he took 12 wickets at an average of 19.25. This performance led to his selection for the 1950 tour to England at the age of 21. He made his test debut, along with
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 ...
, in the first Test of that same Test series against England which started on 8 June 1950. He thus became the first cricketer of East Indian origin to play for the West Indies in international cricket. He decided to call himself as KT Ramadhin during his first international series. The inclusion of both Valentine and Ramadhin for the test series was initially deemed as a surprise call in cricketing circles, especially someone like Ramadhin who received his maiden test call-up after having featured in only two first-class matches. England won the first match of the series at Old Trafford, but in the second Test, at
Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...
, the West Indies recorded a 326-run victory, thanks to Clyde Walcott's 168
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 ...
in the second innings, and to the bowling of Ramadhin (11 for 152) and Valentine (7 for 127). This was West Indies' first ever Test victory in England, and it was commemorated in the famous " Victory Calypso": The 1950 win by the West Indies led Lord Beginner to write the first in a deluge of calypsos celebrating West Indian cricketers, giving rise to calypso cricket. Ramadhin bowled the leg-break and off-break without a discernible change in his action. He and fellow spinner
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 ...
continued to dominate and wreaking havoc on the English batting in the 1950 series, taking 59 wickets between them. They also bowled in tandem for several overs in their debut series (Ramadhin bowled 377.5 overs while Valentine ended up bowling 422.3 overs). West Indies won the series by three matches to one, which was their first series victory in England. West Indies also notably secured historic win at Lord's for the first time during the series. The Wisden heaped praise on his bowling performance in England by stating "No blame could be attached to pitch... Ramadhin bowled with the guile of a veteran. He pitched a tantalizing length, bowled straight at the wicket and spun enough to beat the bat." He also received praise from former English player Denis Compton who described Ramadhin as "the best match winning bowler in the world".


Post 1950 series

When England returned to the West Indies in early 1954, Ramadhin took 13 wickets in the first two Tests and was instrumental in West Indies' victory. He was the first bowler to take two five-wicket hauls in his first two Test matches, against England. In the 1957 tour of England Ramadhin still exerted his hold over batsmen, taking 7/49 to dismiss England for 186 in the first innings of the First Test at
Edgbaston Edgbaston () is an affluent suburban area of central Birmingham, England, historically in Warwickshire, and curved around the southwest of the city centre. In the 19th century, the area was under the control of the Gough-Calthorpe family an ...
. The West Indies made 474 in its first innings. Then
Colin Cowdrey Michael Colin Cowdrey, Baron Cowdrey of Tonbridge, (24 December 19324 December 2000) was an English first-class cricketer who played for Oxford University (1952–1954), Kent County Cricket Club (1950–1976) and England (1954–1975). Univers ...
joined
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 ...
at 113/3 in the second innings, still 175 runs behind. May and Cowdrey padded away any ball from Ramadhin outside off stump, where they could not be given out
leg before wicket Leg before wicket (lbw) is one of the ways in which a batsman can be dismissed in the sport of cricket. Following an appeal by the fielding side, the umpire may rule a batter out lbw if the ball would have struck the wicket but was instead in ...
. May made 285 not out and Cowdrey 154 and together added 411 runs in 511 minutes, the third highest stand in Test cricket at the time, the highest for the fourth wicket until 2009, the highest stand ever made for
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and the highest stand against 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 ...
by any team. Ramadhin was forced to bowl 98–35–179–2, the most overs by a bowler in a first class innings. England won the series 3–0.


Later years

He decided to play in Lancashire League as a professional and then decided to play first-class cricket for Lancashire after ending a prolific international career which spanned for a decade. His international career came to a close in 1960 when
Lance Gibbs Lancelot Richard Gibbs (born 29 September 1934) is a former West Indies cricketer, one of the most successful spin bowlers in Test cricket history. He took 309 Test wickets, only the second player (after Fred Trueman) to pass 300, the first spi ...
started to make an impact as the lead spinner for West Indies especially taking over the reins from Ramadhin in historic test series against Australia in 1960-61. He ended up his international career having taken 158 test wickets in 43 appearances. In 1964/65 he played for
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
, terminating his contract abruptly when he lost form. From 1968 until 1972, he represented Lincolnshire in the
Minor Counties Championship The NCCA 3 Day Championship (previously the Minor Counties Cricket Championship) is a season-long competition in England and Wales that is contested by the members of the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), the so-called national cou ...
. In June 1988, Ramadhin was celebrated on the 75c Trinidad and Tobago stamp alongside the
Barbados Cricket Buckle The Barbados Cricket Buckle is a repoussé engraving on a belt buckle of a slave playing cricket in Barbados circa 1780–1810. It is believed to be the only known image of a slave playing cricket and is thought to be the oldest surviving artif ...
.


Personal life and death

He settled in England after his retirement from international cricket. He lived in Delph in his final stages of his life for around nearly 12 years. He served as President of Friarmere Cricket Club for a considerable number of years. His son Craig Ramadhin eventually played for Friarmere Cricket Club for about 50 years. Ramadhin died on 27 February 2022, at the age of 92. His grandson,
Kyle Hogg Kyle William Hogg (born 2 July 1983) is an English former cricketer. He is a left-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-fast bowler who played for Lancashire from 2001 to 2014. Between 2000–01 and 2002 Hogg represented the England under-19s i ...
was a fast bowler who played for
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
between 2001 and 2014. His son-in-law Willie Hogg also played first-class cricket for Lancashire.


References


External links

*
BBC overview of 1950 series

Biography at Caribbean Cricket

Interview with Ramadhin at BBC

Garry Steckles story on birth of calypso cricket

BBC history of East Indian cricketers in West Indies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramadhin, Sonny 1929 births 2022 deaths West Indies Test cricketers Trinidad and Tobago cricketers Lancashire cricketers Commonwealth XI cricketers Trinidad and Tobago Hindus Wisden Cricketers of the Year Lincolnshire cricketers Recipients of the Chaconia Medal Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers