George John (c. 1883 –14 January 1944) was a West Indian fast bowler.
George John was a very fast bowler in his prime and could cut the ball into the batsmen. He toured England with West Indies side in 1923 but by then was past his best. He claimed 90 wickets at 14.68 in all matches,49 of them at 19.51 in first class matches. Against Glamorgan he took 10 for 147 and at Scarborough,with George Francis,reduced a near Test quality HDG Leveson Gower's XI to 19 for 6 as they were chasing 28 to win in the second innings. John took 5 for 54 for Trinidad against MCC in 1925-26 when he was over forty years of age.[ citation needed ]
The Trinidadian writer C. L. R. James,who often played against him,has left a picture of what John the bowler looked like:
He was just the right height,about five foot ten,with a chest,shoulders and legs on him all power and proportion... He was one of those rare fast bowlers who proposed to defeat you first of all by pace and sheer pace. He ran about fifteen yards,a quick step or two first,a long loping stride that increased until near the crease he leapt into the air and delivered,his arm high ... Thunderbolts they were." [1]
In June 1988,John was celebrated on the 30c Trinidad and Tobago stamp alongside the Barbados Cricket Buckle. [2] He was the father of playwright and actor Errol John.
Sir Curtly Elconn Lynwall Ambrose KCN is an Antiguan former cricketer who played 98 Test matches for the West Indies. Widely acknowledged as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time,he took 405 Test wickets at an average of 20.99 and topped the ICC Player Rankings for much of his career to be rated the best bowler in the world. His great height—he is 6 feet 7 inches (2.01 m) tall—allowed him to make the ball bounce unusually high after he delivered it;allied to his pace and accuracy,it made him a very difficult bowler for batsmen to face. A man of few words during his career,he was notoriously reluctant to speak to journalists. He was chosen as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1992;after he retired he was entered into the International Cricket Council Hall of Fame and selected as one of West Indies all-time XI by a panel of experts.
Courtney Andrew Walsh OJ is a former Jamaican cricketer who represented the West Indies from 1984 to 2001,captaining the West Indies in 22 Test matches. He is a fast bowler and considered one of the all-time greats,best known for a remarkable opening bowling partnership along with fellow West Indian Curtly Ambrose for several years. Walsh played 132 Tests and 205 ODIs for the West Indies and took 519 and 227 wickets respectively. He shared 421 Test wickets with Ambrose in 49 matches. He held the record of most Test wickets from 2000,after he broke the record of Kapil Dev. This record was later broken in 2004 by Shane Warne. He was the first bowler to reach 500 wickets in Test cricket. His autobiography is entitled "Heart of the Lion". Walsh was named one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1987. In October 2010,he was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. He was appointed as the Specialist Bowling Coach of Bangladesh Cricket Team in August 2016.
Sir Garfield St Aubrun Sobers,AO,OCC,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,he is widely considered to be cricket's greatest ever all-rounder and one of the greatest cricketers of all time.
Frederick Sewards Trueman,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.
Malcolm Denzil Marshall was a Barbadian cricketer. Primarily a fast bowler,Marshall is widely regarded as one of the greatest and one of the most accomplished fast bowlers of the modern era in Test cricket. He is often acknowledged as the greatest West Indian fast bowler of all time,and certainly one of the most complete fast bowlers the cricketing world ever saw. His Test bowling average of 20.94 is the best of anyone who has taken 200 or more wickets. He achieved his bowling success despite being,by the standards of other fast bowlers of his time,a short man –he stood at 180 cm,while most of the great quicks have been well above 183 cm and many great West Indian fast bowlers,such as Joel Garner,Curtly Ambrose,and Courtney Walsh,were 197 cm or above. He generated fearsome pace from his bowling action,with a dangerous bouncer. He also statistically went on to become the most successful Test match bowler of the 1980s with 235 wickets with an average of 18.47 within a time period of just five years. Marshall was a part of the West Indies team that reached the 1983 Cricket World Cup Final,but lost to India by 43 runs.
Sydney Francis Barnes was an English professional cricketer who is regarded as one of the greatest bowlers of all time. He was right-handed and bowled at a pace that varied from medium to fast-medium with the ability to make the ball both swing and break from off or leg. In Test cricket,Barnes played for England in 27 matches from 1901 to 1914,taking 189 wickets at 16.43,one of the lowest Test bowling averages ever achieved. In 1911–12,he helped England to win the Ashes when he took 34 wickets in the series against Australia. In 1913–14,his final Test series,he took a world record 49 wickets in a Test series,against South Africa.
Learie Nicholas Constantine,Baron Constantine,was a Trinidadian cricketer,lawyer and politician who served as Trinidad and Tobago's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and became the UK's first black peer. He played 18 Test matches for the West Indies before the Second World War and took the team's first wicket in Test cricket. An advocate against racial discrimination,in later life he was influential in the passing of the 1965 Race Relations Act in Britain. He was knighted in 1962 and made a life peer in 1969.
Sir Wesley Winfield Hall is a Barbadian former cricketer and politician. A tall,strong and powerfully built man,Hall was a genuine fast bowler and despite his very long run up,he was renowned for his ability to bowl long spells. Hall played 48 Test matches for the West Indies from 1958 to 1969. Hall's opening bowling partnership with fellow Barbadian Charlie Griffith was a feature of the strong West Indies teams throughout the 1960s. Hall was one of the most popular cricketers of his day and was especially popular in Australia,where he played two seasons in the Sheffield Shield with Queensland.
Sylvester Theophilus Clarke was a Barbadian cricketer who played 11 Test matches and 10 One Day Internationals for the West Indian cricket team.
Clifford Archibald Roach was a West Indian cricketer who played in West Indies' first Test match in 1928. Two years later,he scored the West Indies' first century in Test matches,followed two matches later by the team's first double century. Roach played for Trinidad,but before having any great success at first-class level,he was chosen to tour England with a West Indies team in 1928 and scored over 1,000 runs. When England played in the West Indies in 1930,he recorded his ground-breaking centuries but had intermittent success at Test level afterwards. He toured Australia in 1930–31 and returned to England in 1933,when he once more passed 1,000 runs,but was dropped from the team in 1935. Within three years,he lost his place in the Trinidad team. Roach was generally inconsistent,but batted in an attacking and attractive style. Outside of cricket,he worked as a solicitor. Later in his life,he suffered from diabetes which necessitated the amputation of both his legs.
George Gibson Macaulay was a professional English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 1920 and 1935. He played in eight Test matches for England from 1923 to 1933,achieving the rare feat of taking a wicket with his first ball in Test cricket. One of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1924,he took 1,838 first-class wickets at an average of 17.64 including four hat-tricks.
George Nathaniel Francis was a West Indian cricketer who played in West Indies' first Test in their inaugural Test tour of England. He was a fast bowler of renowned pace and was notably successful on West Indies' non-Test playing tour of England in 1923,but he was probably past his peak by the time the West Indies were elevated to Test status. He was born in Trents,St. James,Barbados and died at Black Rock,Saint Michael,also in Barbados.
Herman Clarence Griffith was a West Indian cricketer who played in West Indies' first Test match in their inaugural Test tour of England and was one of the leading bowlers on that tour.
Wilton H. St Hill was a West Indian international cricketer who played in West Indies' first Test match during their inaugural Test tour of England. A right-handed batman who played in a variety of batting positions,he represented Trinidad in first-class cricket between 1912 and 1930 and played in three Test matches in total. Although his Test record was poor,he was highly regarded in Trinidad. In particular,writer C. L. R. James considered St Hill to be among the top batsmen in the world and dedicated a chapter of Beyond a Boundary to him. At the peak of his career,Lord Harris described him as the best batsman in the West Indies.
Joseph A. Small was a West Indian cricketer who played in West Indies' first Test in their inaugural Test tour of England. He scored the first half century for a West Indies player in Test cricket and played two further Test matches in his career. An all-rounder,he played domestic cricket for Trinidad between 1909 and 1932.
Edwin Lloyd St Hill was a Trinidadian cricketer who played two Test matches for the West Indies in 1930. His brothers,Wilton and Cyl,also played for Trinidad and Tobago;in addition,the former played Test matches for the West Indies.
Emmanuel Alfred Martindale was a West Indian cricketer who played in ten Test matches from 1933 to 1939. He was a right-arm fast bowler with a long run up;although not tall for a bowler of his type he bowled at a fast pace. With Learie Constantine,Martindale was one of the earliest in the long succession of Test-playing West Indian fast bowlers. During the time he played,the West Indies bowling attack depended largely on his success. Critics believe that his record and performances stand comparison with bowlers of greater reputation and longer careers.
Victor S Pascall was a Trinidadian cricketer who represented the West Indies in the days before they achieved Test status. His primary role was as a left-arm spinner,but was regarded as a reasonable batsman. Pascall was related to the Constantine family;he was the maternal uncle of Elias and Learie Constantine and was a possible coaching influence on the latter. At the time he played,critics considered him the best left-arm spinner in the West Indies.
George Alphonso Headley OD,MBE 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 cricketers of all time,Headley also represented Jamaica and played professional club cricket in England. West Indies had a weak cricket team through most of Headley's playing career;as their one world-class player,he carried a heavy responsibility and the side depended on his batting. He batted at number three,scoring 2,190 runs in Tests at an average of 60.83,and 9,921 runs in all first-class matches at an average of 69.86. He was chosen as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1934.
Philbert Duncan Blair is a former Guyanese cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1968 to 1974. He toured with the West Indian cricket team in England in 1969 but did not play Test cricket.