British Guiana champion Inter-territorial quadrangular cricket in 1956 - Shan Razack

     

British Guiana emerged champion in the first ever Inter-territorial quadrangular cricket final against Barbados at Bourda in 1956 

Cammie Smith is often referred to as Legall's "Bunny". Legall has taken the wicket of Cammie Smith on four of the six occasions that he played against him at Bourda 

BG were well on their way to another mammoth total when in 292 minutes at their disposal they took 283 runs off the Barbados bowling for the loss of four wickets as the first Inter-colonial quadrangular cricket final before an estimated 12,000 spectators including His Excellency, Sir Partick Renison K.C.M.G., Lady Renison and their daughter Elizabeth in brilliant weather at Bourda.
Rohan Kanhai while making sure of a place to tour England in (1957) was undefeated on 59 while his fellow Berbician Joe Solomon is sharing an unfinished fifth-wicket partnership of 68 runs with him has 28 to his credit. The outstanding feature of the day’s play was the magnificent knock of 41 in 47 minutes by Bruce Pairaudeau who is also looking for a place on the West Indies team. Pairaudeau treated medium pacer new comer Lionel Williams to the baptism of fire on his first appearance at Bourda collecting three blistering fours from his first over and then finding the boundary boards three times in the first over he received from Garfield Sobers. His sparkling knock included eight fours in all before he was unfortunately run out through a misunderstanding with fellow opener Glendon Gibbs to give the colony a good start at 54 runs for the first wicket.
Gibbs went on to register 80 valuable runs and sharing in a second-wicket partnership of 117 with his captain Clyde Walcott who made 64 in businesslike manner. Basil Butcher who had top scored in the semifinal match against Jamaica with an undefeated 154 failed to come off, being leg before to the second ball after tea from Eric Atkinson for four. The homesters were well ahead of the clock, Kanhai looks good for another century and so did Solomon who was middling the ball and displaying supreme confidence in his ability to stay there and make runs. BG ran up on the second day the almost impregnable score of 582 for the loss of nine wickets.

The day’s play was highlighted by the two century innings by the Berbicians Rohan Kanhai and Joe Solomon coming after their two hundreds in the semifinals match against Jamaica. Kanhai’s effort was a magnificent knock of 195 and further strengthened his claim for West Indies selection for the 1957 tour to England. He was run out from a beautiful throw in by Frank King who plugged the bowler’s end to end a stay that had lasted 378 minutes and had included 22 boundaries. He had been associated in a record fifth wicket partnership with Solomon that realized 251 runs and had sent the Bajans on a leather-hunting assignment for well over four hours. Solomon’s 108 in 243 minutes was compiled mainly by elegant late cuts, fluent cover drives and almost contemptuous leg glances. Gifted with a very good eye and a great deal of concentration Solomon has also put himself among the candidates for West Indian touring caps. The day’s play lasting the usual 300 minutes produced 299 runs as Kanhai and Solomon attacked the bowling from the word go and scored 107 runs in 90 minutes before the luncheon interval. Only two wickets fell in the first three and a half hours of play but after the tea interval the Barbadians broke through, and captured three wickets in the closing stages among which wicket-keeper Clifford McWatt made 41 with six fours. BG closed the day’s play at 581 for nine, Baijnauth 3, Legall 4 made in 592 minutes. Only 22 minutes of actual play were possible during which time BG lost her remaining wicket without addition to her weekend score of 581 for 9.
And the disaster befell the little island of Barbados when opening batsman Cammie Smith was caught by Baijnauth at second slip off the first ball he received from Pat Legall. Left with seven minutes batting before lunch, Barbados started disastrously as Pat Legal, the only recognized fast bowler in BG bowling with a very slight breeze sent down a medium paced out-swinger to opener Cammie Smith who casually went across, played at it and Baijnauth at second slip took a simple catch. Interestingly enough, Sonny “SugarBoy” Baijnauth, a 44-year-old veteran who last played for the colony some nine years ago was recalled to the side, and being one of five Berbicians who made the team that year.
When the rains came Barbados were 18 for one. Sobers 12, Eric Atkinson 1, needing 563 runs and nine wickets to fall. Barbados, rivals in the final game against the home team received a rude awakening when they were shot out for 211 runs in their innings, and following on 370 in arrears, lost another four wickets before the close for 67. In the 280 minutes of thrilling cricket, BG took the initiative early with the removal of Eric Atkinson and the Barbadians at 50. Then followed the best stand of the innings between Sobers and Weekes which added 93 runs for the third-wicket partnership. With the dismissal of Weekes a complete rout followed, the seven remaining batsmen adding 68 runs between them.

Garry Sobers, West Indies and Barbados opener in a concentrated knock in which was a mixture of exquisite stroke play as well as defense seemed to be the answer to the problem facing the West Indies selectors-a suitable opening pair. His 77 was untainted and came at a time when his team was in dire need for runs. Incidentally, he was top scorer for his side and is holding the fort in the second innings with 32 undefeated runs. Everton Weekes’ 63 unworthy of the master. He never looked confident and failed to produce the brilliance of which fans are accustomed. BG spin twins Ivan Madray and Lance Gibbs further enhanced their claims for invitation by the West Indies selectors to the Trinidad trials. Spinning accurately and always on the spot they broke the backbone of the Barbados batting thus paving the way for the dramatic collapse by tea for 211 runs. They shared four wickets each. Madray securing his at a personal cost of 61 runs, while Gibbs gave away 68 runs. BG supporters were jubilant and rightly so.

There was that air of expectancy as the Barbados openers-Smith and Sobers-came out for the second time. Unfortunately for the tourists it was Smith who received again from Legall. The first ball received was an inswinger which struck him high up as he missed his shot. He played the second ball uncertainly and was caught plumb in the middle of his wicket with the third ball. The confident appeal which followed found Umpire Ifill raising that deadly finger in agreement. Smith, his head lifted and then lowered in despair wended his way back to the pavilion. He had completed a pair of spectacles and Barbados as in the first innings had lost a wicket without a run being scored. It has been a very unhappy match for Smith who was dismissed first ball in the first innings and now after playing one ball and he second hitting him on the pads for a disallowed appeal, he was out for a duck again.When Smith was dismissed first ball in the first innings as memory could tell, it was the second time that a wicket had been taken with the first ball of an Inter-colonial innings. The first was when U.B. “Ric” McKenzie of BG was bowled by E.A.V. (Foffie) Williams of Barbados during the Goodwill series just after the war. Whenever this match is being discussed, Smith is often referred to as Legall’s “Bunny”. Weekes was run out for 4. An appeal twenty minutes before the close was upheld with the score at 67 for four. Sobers on 32 and Eric Atkinson 10. BG can hold their chin and face the other Caribbean cricketing territories square in their cricketing faces, because we have won, and won handsomely, and the Barbadians cannot say that were it not for the rain the outcome would have been different. A new era has been ushered in on the local cricketing scene.

Shan Razack

Alvin Kallicharran’s Test debut century

                                     Alvin Kallicharran’s Test debut century 

Shan Razack

 shanrazack@gmail.com 

Monday, December 14, 2009 at 1:41 AM 

New Zealand’s first tour of the Caribbean in 1972 produced an unenviable record-the first by an international team to end without a result in any of the first-class matches. It is true that, even with the inevitable frustration of drawn matches, there several days when the cricket was tense and interesting. On the whole, however, the tempo of cricket was slow.

New Zealand could only average 2.1 runs an over; the West Indies slightly under 2.8. No day yielded more than 300 runs. New Zealand seldom boasted it’s over rate at any time to more than 15 an over. In addition, the series was unfortunate to have been stricken by perhaps the worst Test match even seen in the Caribbean-the fourth Test in Georgetown.

Seldom has a more boring cricket match being played in the West Indies than the one, which produced the fourth draw of the series. A total of 993 runs were scored off 453 overs while only 10 wickets fell. There were several contributory factors. Both teams selected on the reputation of the Bourda pitch-can be bowlers’ worst nightmare- were pack with batsmen and devoid of bowlers, choices which begged a run-filled draw. The loss of three hours 20 minutes to a combination of rain and crowd interference on the first two days clearly convinced the cautions New Zealanders there was absolutely no chance of them winning and influence their completely negative batting approach. The pitch, always placid became slower and slower as the match progressed, offering the bowlers no assistance and yet eliminating the possibility of free stroke play by the batsmen.
Yet, for all these considerations, the main reason for what the headline writers aptly termed ‘Bourda Boredom’ was the attitude of the players themselves principally, Turner, Jarvis and Congdon. One could understand their desire to lay a sound foundation once the West Indies had declared at 365 for seven after an hour of the third day. Once this had been achieved subsequent tactics were completely inexcusable.

Turner, who had scored 259 on the same ground the previous week in the territorial match against Guyana, simply refused to take the slightest risk. It was his fourth double-century of the tour but, for all his runs there, he will never be kindly remembered by the Guyanese. Turner’s four double-centuries equaled a record established in 1930 by England’s Patsy Hendren for a West Indian tour. Congdon at one stage, had consecutive centuries in four matches when he was finally lbw to the new off-spinner Tony Howard-now manager of the beleagued West Indies team, and a One Test wonder- aiming through mid-wicket, he batted 11 ¾ hours and faced 762 deliveries. Jarvis, it must be admitted, had not played an innings of any consequence on the tour before this one. He was slower than his partner (182 in nine hours off 551 balls) but, in many ways, less stodgy.
If the openers were playing for records, they certainly achieved their objective. Their partnership of 387 was the highest by a New Zealand pair of any wicket in first-class cricket and the highest in tests against the West Indies. It was the second best opening stand in Test history, falling only 26 runs short set by Vinoo Mankad (231) and Pankraj Roy (173) for India against how ironically, New Zealand at Madras in 1955-56.
Turner’s score was his best in first-class cricket, as was Jarvis’s. Turner’s was also a ground record for Tests, beating West Indies prolific batsman Clifford Roach’s 209 against England in 1930.
Congdon approached his innings with even less enterprise than the two openers had done. His undefeated 61 lasted four hours and included only two boundaries (against bowlers such as Greenidge, Kallicharran and Rowe). His declaration, one felt, was forced on him only because of the economical approach of Charlie Davis who, in couple of overs just after lunch on the final day, brought light relief to the small crowd by mimicking the bowling styles of Gibbs, Morgan, Howard and even his country man, Sonny Ramadhin! When Turner was eventually caught at cover off Holford late on the fourth afternoon, the match and all of us present had already lost interest. By then, surely, New Zealand was in no danger of defeat. As if to add to the suffering, Fredericks and Greenidge proceeded to play with the same careful approach as the New Zealanders for the rest of the day and added 86 off 40 overs.
New Zealand’s brilliant fielding lifted their game. Vivian, Burgess, Jarvis and Hastings were particularly brilliant in the outfield cutting off dozens of runs with their diving saves and sure hands- reminds one of Carl Furlong of Trinidad. Vivian’s throw from the deep compared with any ever seen in the West Indies. Observers rated the team alongside the 1952-53 Indians as the best combination to tour the West Indies since the war. And bottle throwing from a section of the crowd after the run out of Lloyd. Despite the big scores by Turner and Jarvis, the best innings was played by our own diminutive Alvin Kallicharran, the young Guyanese in his first Test match.
Kallicharran who had made 54 runs against New Zealand, playing for the President’s X1 and then followed-up with a superb 154 and 51 versus New Zealand at Bourda was one of the four newcomers in the West Indies team- Clive Lloyd coming in for the first time in the series, the off-spinner Tony Howard and the opening batsman Geoffrey Greenidge making their debuts. Kallicharran came to the wicket late on the first day after Lloyd’s run out. By the time, the West Indies had not fared as well as had been hoped, being 178 for four. Fredericks had been unusually restrained for 41 before edging a catch to first slip; Greenidge, forced into the unaccustomed role as stroke maker, flashed at a wide ball and paid the penalty after an  impressive half-century in his first Test innings; Rowe, never certain, was bowled. 
At the time of his dismissal, Lloyd (43) seemed to be moving from third to top gear. The lanky left-hander had been strangely omitted from the first three Tests and had proved the folly of their ways to the selectors and the Guyanese crowd by two tremendous centuries in the preceding territorial match. His home crowd was preparing itself for another exposure innings when he hit the ball from Howard hard to mid-off and set off for the run. Davis did not agree with Lloyd’s judgment, followed the course of the ball and was surprised to see his partner on him when he turned. Lloyd never bothered to try to regain his ground. Within 10 minutes, the crowd’s disappointment at the loss of a local hero was reflected in a bottle-throwing incident- the second at Bourda- principally from the north-east corner of the ground, which held up play for 20 minutes. The players had to leave the field, Lloyd came to the broadcasting box to appeal for calm and, after 20 minutes, played was resumed in a tense atmosphere. Fortunately, the incident did not develop into anything like the previous bottle-throwing disturbances in the Caribbean.
When the match did continue, Davis, against whom feelings were vented, did have to remain in his hotel for the night under management instructions. Kallicharran’s first few minutes in Test cricket, therefore, had to be played out in this type of situation.
On the following day, Kallicharran had the further frustration of waiting until 20 minutes after lunch before he could resume because of rain. Lightening, they day, does not strike twice, but in the case of ‘bottle throwing at Bourda’it certainly did. Over fifty years ago, in 1954, my dad took me to see my First Test match there I was fortunate to witness the first of the bottle-throwing in the West Indies-England match
Cliff McWatt of BG and J.K. Holt Jr. of Jamaica were leading a rearguard action for the West Indies in the third Test. Batting with determination and obviously intent in getting the West Indies back into the game, they had added 99 respectable runs for the eight-wicket when disaster struck. McWatt was unfortunately run out for 54 and “Badge” Menzies made no hesitation in raising his finger. There was no doubt McWatt was out, but his brave innings had inspired hope of a West Indies revival, so when “Badge” gave him marching orders, a section of the crowd reacted badly. One man threw a bottle unto the field, and then, as if by some given command, a rain of bottles littered the field, forcing the English team to run-off.
It was sometime before the field could be cleared and at the end of the day, “Badge” had to be escorted to the pavilion after some spectators’ hurled insult, at the hapless man afterwards. By tea, Kallicharran had lost Davis, caught behind cutting, and Sobers offering a casual shot and was easily caught off the same bowler, Taylor. At 244 for six, Kali had only Holford, Findlay and the bowlers remaining. Holford, however, was of great assistance in Kalli’s quest to reach three figures. Kallicharran immediately attacked the previously tight New Zealand bowling. His confidence grew as a result and the partnership added 61 in even time, before Holford was leg before playing defensively to Congdon. Going into the third day, Kallicharran had 59 to his credit, and there and then his class was most evident. Realizing he had only a limited time to bat, he added the 41 needed for his century in an hour with a succession of superb shots all around the wicket, before Sobers declared. Overall, he batted for four hours, 18 minutes and struck a lofty six over long on off Howard and seven fours. At that point the match had died a natural death.
There is one gentleman who is still around who witnessed the Test match.
Isardat Ramdehol, a former Port Mourant all-rounder and vice-captain and opening batsman of the first- ever Berbice schoolboy cricket team against Demerara was at Bourda in 1972, and saw every one of Kalli’s runs scored. This is how he described it: “My eyes filled …when he was at naughty, nervous 99 and then reached 100! I cannot forget the ease with which he lifted Howard, the left-arm New Zealand spinner over mid-wicket for a towering six. The world was looking at a player who was to bring grace and charm to batting as his fellow colleague from Port Mourant, Rohan Bholalall Kanhai brought music to it.”
The main interest among the public on the final day was whether Glen Turner could equal Sobers’s world-record Test score of 365 not out. As it turned out, he fell well short. Just before lunch, trying to work Howard’s straight ball off middle and leg to the on side, he was LBW. His 259 was exactly the same as he had made in his previous innings against Guyana, being his best first-class score. He batted for 113/4 hours, hit 22 fours and faced 762 deliveries. The rest of the play was of mere statistical interest. Howard picked up his second wicket by bowling Burgess between bat and pad and Congdon eventually declared at 543 for three. The total was the highest ever by New Zealand in Test cricket, and the highest ever made in a Test match at Bourda. 
Fredericks and Greenidge rounded off the match without changing its character in any way, their 86 coming off 40 overs. Yet, apart from the actual result, there was a great deal to make the outlook for the immediate future optimistic. Principally, the emergence of a number of outstanding young players was particularly heartening. Rowe, the Jamaican right-hander and Kallicharran, the Guyanese left-hander, made the most impressive debuts imaginable. The former became the first batsman ever to score a double and a single century in separate innings of his first Test; the latter immediately recorded two successive centuries after he gained his place in the fourth Test team. Both were in their early twenties and both batsmen were in the true West Indian mould, possessing all the strokes and able and willing to play them.

Their showing vindicated the West Indian selector’s decision not to recall the veteran Rohan Kanhai for the series, although it could not excuse the way in which it was done without so much of a thank-you to Rohan Bholalall Kanhai for his long and distinguished service to the West Indies.