Sonny Ramadhin

Ramadhin, the first East Indian to represent West Indies, was a small neat man whose shirt-sleeves were always buttoned at the wrist. After just two first-class matches, he was called up for the famous 1950 tour of England, where he baffled the batsmen with his ability to spin the ball both ways. He bowled right-arm offbreaks and legbreaks with no discernible change of action. At Lord's, Ramadhin took 11 for 152 in 115 overs as West Indies recorded their first win there. The team relied heavily on him and his "spin twin" Alf Valentine, and the long spells both contributed probably reduced their later effectiveness. At Edgbaston in 1957 Ramadhin bowled 98 overs in the second innings - 129 in the match -- as Peter May and Colin Cowdrey played him largely with their pads. But in that first series, he was devastating. He later played in Lancashire - for the county and in the leagues - and still lives there.
Vaneisa Baksh