Sonny Ramadhin: 1st Indian-origin WI cricketer who destroyed England at Lord's in 1950
Born in St Charles Village in Trinidad, not far from the capital Port of Spain, Ramadhin lost both his parents when he was a toddler. He was raised by his grandparents, who had migrated from India to work on one of Trinidad's cocoa estates.
Sonny Ramadhin, born in Trinidad to parents who had immigrated from India, made his Test debut for the West Indies at Old Trafford during the 1950 tour of England. He was the first cricketer of Indian origin to represent the West Indies. Despite having no first name at birth, Ramadhin was later given the name Sonny, which stuck with him for life.
During the 1950 tour, Ramadhin and fellow spinner Alf Valentine became known as the "spin twins" due to their exceptional performance, helping West Indies defeat England for the first time in an English Test series. Ramadhin's ability to bowl both off-breaks and leg-breaks without much change in his action, combined with Valentine's left-arm orthodox spin, proved to be the key to West Indies' success.
The second Test at Lord's was particularly iconic, with Ramadhin taking 5 wickets for 66 in the first innings and 6 wickets for 86 in the second, ultimately leading West Indies to a 326-run victory. The victory at Lord's inspired a memorable calypso called "Cricket, Lovely Cricket," which celebrated the duo's role in the historic win.
Written by urgent.news from Times of India's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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