Alfred Valentine
The devastating spinning partnership between Ramadin and Valentine (right) tormented England during their 1950 tour.
Considering the arsenal of legendary pacers that the West Indies turned out during the 20th century, it is easy, but still complacent, to overlook the few spinners that have carved out a niche for themselves in the Caribbean islands.
One of these is none other than Alf Valentine, who was an integral part of the first ever great West Indian side that shocked England 3-1 in 1950 and thus gave birth to the famous Victory Calypso:
Second Test and West Indies won
With those two little pals of mine
Ramadhin and Valentine
He arrived on the scene as a fresh faced 20 year old, strongly built with immense stamina, heavy-footed and rather ponderous, with merely two first class matches under his belt having taken only two wickets at an average of 95. However he played out probably one of the greatest debuts of all time, taking 8 wickets in his first innings, grabbing 5 of those before lunch on the first day and finishing the match with 11/204 which till the end of his career remained his best figures.
Test Record:
Overs: 2029.5
Balls: 12953
Maidens: 789
Runs Conceded: 4215
Wickets: 139
Average: 30.32
5 Wickets in Innings: 8
10 Wickets in Match: 2
Best - Innings: 8/104
Best - Match: 11/204
Economy Rate: 1.95
Strike Rate: 93.19
Middle Stump Lubricators XI:
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03. Kumar Sangakkara
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11. Alf Valentine