WICB mourn ‘gentleman’ Valentine

IT is with great sorrow that the West Indies Cricket Board has learnt of the death of Alfred Valentine, one of the great legendary figures of West Indies and World cricket. Valentine’s name undoubtedly will be linked forever to his famous bowling partner Sonny Ramadhin as it was in the immortal calypso of Lord Beginner.However Valentine’s contribution to the history of West Indies cricket and indeed his career went beyond his partnership with Ramadhin. The left arm spinner began his first class career with Jamaica in 1950 and went on to captain his country in 1964.  Valentine also coached extensively in Jamaica. In 125 first class matches, he captured 475 wickets including 10 or more wickets in a match six  times, and five wickets in an innings, a remarkable 32 times.

From the moment he entered Test cricket at Old Trafford, in the first Test of the 1950 series at the age of 20 with an historic eight-wicket haul in the first innings of the game, until he left the Test scene 12 years later in 1962, Valentine was a wholehearted and committed member of the West Indies team. His 139 wickets in 36 Test matches included the fact that he was the first West Indian bowler to capture 100 wickets in Test cricket. He was an integral part of three of the major events in West Indies cricket history, the first Test match win in England at Lords in 1950, the first Test series victory in England, 3-1, in 1950 in which he took the most wickets, 33, and the tied Test at Brisbane, Australia in 1960.

There is no doubt that his name will be etched in the annals of West Indies cricket. His teammate Jackie Hendriks, now a director of the WICB Inc, described Valentine as a “superb left arm spinner” who bowled on wickets in the West Indies that at the time were unresponsive to spin. “He was a marvellous team man, a gentleman in all respects with a joie de vivre which endeared him to his colleagues,” Hendriks said.The WICB extends to the Valentine family and to Jamaica cricket deepest sympathies on their loss.