Sonny Ramadhin (1 May 1929 – 27 February 2022) was a West Indian cricketer, and was a dominant bowler of the 1950s. He was the first of many West Indian cricketers of Indian origin, and was one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year 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".[1] 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.[2] 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, 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 adapated his nickname "Sonny" as his first name.[4][5] He was introduced to cricket at the Canadian Mission School in Duncan Village, but did not bowl while in school.[6] 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, where he took 12 wickets at an average of 19.25.[7] This performance led to his selection for the 1950 tour to England at the age of 21.[8]
He made his test debut along with Alf Valentine in the first test of that same test series against England which started on 8 June 1950.[9] He went onto become the first cricketer of East Indian origin to play for the West Indies in international cricket.[2] He decided to call himself as KT Ramadhin during his first international series.[5] The inclusion of both Valentine and Ramadhin for the test series was initially deemed as a surprise call in the 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, the West Indies recorded a 326-run victory, thanks to Clyde Walcott's 168 not out in the second innings, and to the bowling of Ramadhin (11 for 152) and Valentine (7 for 127).[11]
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.[14]
He and fellow spinner Alf Valentine continued to dominate and wreaking havoc 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.
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 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, terminating his contract abruptly when he lost form. From 1968 until 1972, he represented Lincolnshire in the Minor Counties Championship.
In June 1988, Ramadhin was celebrated on the 75c Trinidad and Tobago stamp alongside the Barbados Cricket Buckle.
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 was a fast bowler who played for Lancashire between 2001 and 2014 His son-in-law Willie Hogg also played first-class cricket for Lancashire.
