Joel Garner is a former West Indian cricketer, and a member of the highly regarded late 1970s and early 1980s West Indies cricket teams. Garner is the highest ranked One Day International bowler according to the ICC best-ever bowling ratings, and is 37th in Tests. Garner was a member of the West Indies teams that won their second world title in the 1979 Cricket World Cup as well as finishing as runners-up at the 1983 Cricket World Cup.
The history of the West Indian cricket team begins in the 1880s when the first combined West Indian team was formed and toured Canada and the United States. In the 1890s, the first representative sides were selected to play visiting English sides. Administered by the West Indies Cricket Board ("WICB"), and known colloquially as The Windies, the West Indies cricket team represents a sporting confederation of English-speaking Caribbean countries.
Michael Anthony Holding is a Jamaican former cricketer and commentator who played for the West Indies cricket team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest pace bowlers in cricket history, he was nicknamed "Whispering Death" due to his silent, light-footed run up to the bowling crease. Holding was a key member of the West Indies team that won the 1979 Cricket World Cup, as well as finishing as runners-up at the 1983 Cricket World Cup. He had the most wickets for his team at the 1979 tournament. His bowling action was renowned for being smooth and extremely fast, and he used his height to generate large amounts of bounce and zip off the pitch. He was part of the fearsome West Indian pace bowling battery, together with Andy Roberts, Joel Garner, Colin Croft, Wayne Daniel, Malcolm Marshall and Sylvester Clarke, that devastated opposing batting line-ups throughout the world in the late seventies and early eighties. Early in his Test career, in 1976, Holding broke the record for best bowling figures in a Test match by a West Indies bowler, 14 wickets for 149 runs (14/149). The record still stands. During his first-class cricket career, Holding played for Jamaica, Canterbury, Derbyshire, Lancashire, and Tasmania. In September 2021, Holding announced his retirement from being a commentator.
Sir Anderson Montgomery Everton Roberts, KCN is a former Antiguan first-class cricketer who is considered the father of modern West Indian fast bowling. Roberts played Test cricket for the West Indies, twice taking seven wickets in a Test innings, and was a member of the team that won both the 1975 Cricket World Cup and the 1979 Cricket World Cup respectively, as well as finishing as runners-up at the 1983 Cricket World Cup. Arriving in England in 1972, he played first-class cricket for Hampshire County Cricket Club and then later for Leicestershire County Cricket Club.
Jeffrey Robert Thomson is a former Australian cricketer. Known as "Thommo", he is one of the fastest bowlers in the history of cricket; he bowled a delivery with a speed of 160.6 km/h against the West Indies in Perth in 1975, which was the fastest recorded delivery at the time, and the fourth-fastest recorded delivery of all time. He was a part of the Australian squad which finished as runners-up at the 1975 Cricket World Cup.
Derek Shackleton was a Hampshire and England bowler. He took over 100 wickets in 20 consecutive seasons of first-class cricket, but only played in seven Tests for England. He has the seventh-highest tally of first-class wickets, and the most first-class wickets of any player who began his career after World War II. He holds the record for the most first-class wickets taken by any Hampshire player.
Sir Wesley Winfield Hall is a Barbadian former cricketer and politician. A tall, strong and powerfully built man, Hall was a genuine fast bowler and despite his very long run up, he was renowned for his ability to bowl long spells. Hall played 48 Test matches for the West Indies from 1958 to 1969. Hall's opening bowling partnership with fellow Barbadian Charlie Griffith was a feature of the strong West Indies teams throughout the 1960s. Hall was one of the most popular cricketers of his day and was especially popular in Australia, where he played two seasons in the Sheffield Shield with Queensland.
Shahadat Hossain is a Bangladeshi cricketer. He made his Test debut in 2005 during Bangladesh's first tour of England. When he came onto the international scene he was cited by then coach Dav Whatmore as the fastest bowler in the team. The following year, Hossain made his One Day International (ODI) debut against Kenya. At times Hossain has struggled with conceding too many runs, and for that reason was dropped in 2009. In November 2010, Hossain was a member of the squad that won Bangladesh's first gold in any event at the Asian Games. A broken toe prevented Hossain from playing for Bangladesh in July 2011, but after more than a year since his last Test he returned to the squad in October that year. In November 2019, he was given a five-year ban from cricket, after assaulting a teammate. He made history being the first Bangladeshi to take a hat-trick in the ODI format.
Sylvester Theophilus Clarke was a Barbadian cricketer who played 11 Test matches and 10 One Day Internationals for the West Indian cricket team.
Eldine Ashworth Elderfield Baptiste is an Antiguan former professional cricketer. He played in 10 Test matches – all of which resulted in West Indian victories – and 43 One Day Internationals (ODI) for the West Indies, between 1983 and 1990.
The South African rebel tours were a series of seven cricket tours staged between 1982 and 1990. They were known as the rebel tours because the international cricketing bodies banned South Africa from competitive international cricket throughout this period because of apartheid. As such the tours were organised and conducted in spite of the express disapproval of national cricket boards and governments, the International Cricket Conference and international organisations such as the United Nations. The tours were the subject of enormous contemporaneous controversy and remain a sensitive topic throughout the cricket-playing world.
Chris Old is a former English cricketer, who played 46 Tests and 32 ODIs from 1972 to 1981. A right-arm fast-medium bowler and lower order left-handed batsman, Old was a key feature of the Yorkshire side between 1969 and 1983, before finishing his career at Warwickshire in 1985. As a Test bowler for England he took 143 wickets, and scored useful runs in the famous 1981 Ashes series' Headingley victory. He was a part of the English squad which finished as runners-up at the 1979 Cricket World Cup.
Michael Hendrick was an English cricketer, who played in thirty Tests and twenty-two One Day Internationals for England from 1973 to 1981. He played for Derbyshire from 1969 to 1981, and for Nottinghamshire from 1982 to 1984. He was a part of the English squad which finished as runners-up at the 1979 Cricket World Cup.
Greg Thomas is a Welsh former cricketer, who played in five Test matches and three One Day Internationals for England between 1986 and 1987.
Frederick Robert Goodall was a New Zealand international cricket umpire who officiated in 24 Tests and 15 One-Day Internationals between 1965 and 1988.
Franklyn DaCosta Stephenson is a former cricketer from Barbados who played as a right handed batsman and pacer. Stephenson played as an allrounder for his native Barbados together with Tasmania, Orange Free State, Gloucestershire, Nottinghamshire and Sussex in his cricketing career. As an aggressive middle-order batsman and genuinely quick pacer, he was also known for being one of the greatest exponents of the slower ball.
The West Indies cricket team toured New Zealand from 6 February 1980 to 5 March 1980, playing 3 Tests and 1 One Day Internationals against New Zealand. The West Indies were coming after their first test series win on Australian soil. However, Vivian Richards who scored 400 runs in the Australian tour returned home with a sore back. As a result, New Zealand won the test series 1-0 as well as the only ODI by 1 wicket.
Yasir Shah SI is an international cricketer from Pakistan. He plays as a bowler, and is the joint-second fastest bowler in the history of Test cricket to take 100 wickets, as well as also being the fastest to pick up 200 wickets, having broken the previous record set by Australian bowler Clarrie Grimmett.
In January and February 1983, a representative team of West Indian cricket players undertook a so-called "Rebel tour" to South Africa, to play a series of matches against the South African team. At the time, the International Cricket Council (ICC) had placed a moratorium on international cricket teams making tours of South Africa, due to the nation's government policy of apartheid, leaving South Africa with no official international competition.
