Fun with numbers: A West Indian team batting order that matches their Test appearances

Here’s an odd little article to ponder over your coffee. A team of West Indian Test players whose position in the Test batting order – on at least one occasion – matched the total number of Tests that they played for the Windies.

1. Leon Garrick

His only test came against South Africa in 2001 when he opened with Chris Gayle against the likes of Alan Donald, Shaun Pollock and Jacques Kallis. Welcome to Test cricket! He was bowled by Donald with the first ball of the match, but had better luck in the second innings, scoring 27 runs off 75 balls. In his only other claim to fame, Garrick, together with Chris Gayle, once scored an unbeaten opening partnership for Jamaica of 425.

2. Omar Phillips

Phillips was a left-hander and batted at number two in each of his four test innings. He got his Test opportunity against Bangladesh in 2009 following a dispute between the West Indies Cricket Board and the Players’ Association resulting in the original team boycotting the tests, and he just missed out on a century on debut when he fell for 94. When the boycotting players returned to the fold, Phillips was gone.

3. Len Baichan

Generally an opening bat, Baichan swapped places with Viv Richards in the 6th test against Australia in Melbourne in 1976, only to be dismissed by Gary Gilmour for three in the first innings and by Jeff Thomson for 20 in the second. He only played three tests, with the Windies wisely putting their faith in openers Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes, but at least he finished with a test batting average of 46.

4. Karl Nunes (W/K)

Nunes was one of the greats of West Indian cricket, and will be remembered as much for the work he did for the sport off the field as for the fact that he was their very first Test captain when they played England at Lords in 1928. He batted at second wicket down on four occasions on the Windies maiden tour of England.

5. Sylvester Joseph

A right-handed batsman, Joseph played five tests over a period of three years, firstly being thrust into the unfamiliar role of opener in 2004, and later batting further down the order where he didn’t meet with much more success.

6. Floyd Reifer

The left-hander had what only could be described as an extraordinary Test career. He made his Test debut against Sri Lanka in 1997 where he posted his highest test score of 29, and played one more test in that series and one in each in 1998 and 1999, before disappearing into the Scottish league. Remarkably, he was recalled to captain the side in 2009 in two tests against Bangladesh, following an eleventh-hour boycott of the game by the originally selected players.

7. Rolph Grant

A right-handed bat and off-spin bowler, Grant made his Test debut batting number seven in the first Test against England at Bridgetown in 1935, and was reputably picked as much for his fielding prowess as for his skill with either bat or ball. By the time he played his last three Tests in 1939, he was not only opening the batting but captain of the side.

8. Sew Shivnarine

Shivnarine was an unremarkable right-hand bat and even less remarkable left-arm orthodox bowler who squeezed in eight tests for the Windies between March 1978 and February 1979. He posted his highest test score of 63, the only time he batted number eight, in the second innings of the third test against Australia in Bridgetown in 1978.

9. Prior Jones

Jones was a strong right-arm pace bowler who took 25 test wickets in a career that was disrupted by the second world war. He took his best test figures of 5/85 in the fifth test draw against India in 1949.

10. Wayne Daniel

Daniel was a lethal fast bowler who would have played many more Tests but for the impact of World Series Cricket on his career, and the emergence of the likes of Malcolm Marshall, Colin Croft and Joel Garner onto the test scene. Boy did they have some fast bowlers back in the seventies and eighties!

11. Sylvester Clarke

Who better to terrorise the opposition batsmen than the frightening Sylvester Clarke, whose pace and lift made life very uncomfortable for anyone holding a bat at the other end of the pitch. His Test appearances were limited due to the depth of the West Indian bowling ranks, and when he did get a chance, he never seemed to be able to reproduce his stunning first class form. He batted last man in on eight occasions and had a respectable test batting average of 15.63.

I told you it was an odd article!