West Indian cricket team in England in 1957

Last updated

The West Indies cricket team toured England in the 1957 season to play a five-match Test series against England.

Contents

England won the series 3-0 with two matches drawn. West Indies' spinners Sonny Ramadhin and Alf Valentine were unable to repeat the success they had on the 1950 tour, and though the young Wes Hall was in the team, the fast bowling was not yet as potent as it would be in a few years, and Hall did not play in the Tests.

West Indies side

The West Indies team was captained by John Goddard, who had led the successful 1950 team. The vice-captain was Clyde Walcott but towards the end of the tour, when both Goddard and Walcott were injured, the team was captained in some matches by Frank Worrell who "showed unmistaken gifts of leadership", according to Wisden Cricketers' Almanack.

The full side was:

Kanhai was used as the reserve wicketkeeper and, because his batting was deemed stronger than Alexander's, was used as the wicketkeeper in the first three Test matches, though Wisden said that he was "little more than a stopper". Ganteaume, a wicketkeeper during his early career with Trinidad, did not keep wicket on the tour.

Alexander, Asgarali, Gilchrist, Hall and Kanhai had not played Test cricket before this tour; all except Hall made their Test debuts during the series. Of the other players who had played Test cricket before 1957, only Ganteaume did not make an appearance during the Test series.

Test series summary

First Test

30 May–4 June 1957
(5-day match)
Scorecard
v
186 (79.4 overs)
PE Richardson 47
S Ramadhin 7/49 (31 overs)
474 (191.4 overs)
OG Smith 161
JC Laker 4/119 (54 overs)
583/4d (258 overs)
PBH May 285*
S Ramadhin 2/179 (98 overs)
72/7 (60 overs)
ED Weekes 33
GAR Lock 3/31 (27 overs)
Match drawn
Edgbaston, Birmingham
Umpires: D Davies and CS Elliott
  • England won the toss and elected to bat.
  • 2 June was taken as a rest day.
  • RB Kanhai and R Gilchrist (both WIN) made their Test debuts.
  • S Ramadhin's 98 overs remains the first-class record for balls bowled in an innings.

Second Test

20–22 June 1957
(5-day match)
Scorecard
v
127 (51.3 overs)
RB Kanhai 34
TE Bailey 7/44 (21 overs)
424 (123.3 overs)
MC Cowdrey 152
R Gilchrist 4/115 (36.3 overs)
261 (96.1 overs)
ED Weekes 90
TE Bailey 4/54 (22 overs)
England won by an innings and 36 runs
Lord's, London
Umpires: D Davies and CS Elliott
  • West Indies won the toss and elected to bat.
  • The match was scheduled for five days but completed in three.
  • DV Smith (ENG) and NS Asgarali (WIN) made their Test debuts.

Third Test

4–9 July 1957
(5-day match)
Scorecard
v
619/6d (212 overs)
TW Graveney 258
OG Smith 2/61 (25 overs)
372 (160.4 overs)
FMM Worrell 191*
FS Trueman 5/63 (30 overs)
64/1 (17 overs)
TW Graveney 28*
R Gilchrist 1/21 (7 overs)
367 (f/o) (148.2 overs)
OG Smith 168
JB Statham 5/118 (41.2 overs)
Match drawn
Trent Bridge, Nottingham
Umpires: JS Buller and FS Lee
  • England won the toss and elected to bat.
  • 7 July was taken as a rest day.
  • DW Richardson (ENG) made his Test debut.

Fourth Test

25–27 July 1957
(5-day match)
Scorecard
v
142 (85.3 overs)
RB Kanhai 47
PJ Loader 6/36 (20.3 overs)
279 (124.2 overs)
PBH May 69
FMM Worrell 7/70 (38.2 overs)
132 (36.2 overs)
CL Walcott 35
PJ Loader 3/50 (14 overs)
England won by an innings and 5 runs
Headingley, Leeds
Umpires: JS Buller and D Davies
  • West Indies won the toss and elected to bat.
  • The match was scheduled for five days but completed in three.
  • FCM Alexander (WIN) made his Test debut.

Fifth Test

22–24 August 1957
(5-day match)
Scorecard
v
412 (176.3 overs)
TW Graveney 164
S Ramadhin 4/107 (53.3 overs)
89 (56.4 overs)
GS Sobers 39
GAR Lock 5/28 (21.4 overs)
86 (f/o) (41 overs)
GS Sobers 42
GAR Lock 6/20 (16 overs)
England won by an innings and 237 runs
The Oval, London
Umpires: DE Davies and FS Lee
  • England won the toss and elected to bat.
  • The match was scheduled for five days but completed in three.

External sources

Annual reviews


Related Research Articles

Andy Ganteaume Trinidadian cricketer

Andrew Gordon Ganteaume was a Trinidadian cricketer who played one Test match for the West Indies in 1948 as a batsman. He scored 112 in his only Test innings which left him with the highest Test batting average in history until it was surpassed by Kurtis Patterson. Ganteaume played for Trinidad from a young age and was chosen to play in a Test match against England following his good batting form in 1948. However, his slow scoring probably cost him his place and he never played another Test, although he toured England with the West Indies in 1957. At the time of his death, Ganteaume was the oldest surviving West Indies Test cricketer.

Alf Valentine West Indian cricketer

Alfred Louis Valentine was a West Indian cricketer in the 1950s and 1960s. He is most famous for his performance in the West Indies' 1950 tour of England, which was immortalised in the Victory Calypso.

Gerry Alexander Jamaican cricketer

Franz Copeland Murray Alexander OD, known as Gerry Alexander, was a Jamaican cricketer who played 25 Test matches for the West Indies. He was a wicket-keeper who had 90 dismissals in his 25 Test appearances and, though his batting average was around 30 in both Test and first class cricket, his only first-class century came in a Test on the 1960–61 tour of Australia.

The English cricket team in the West Indies in 1953–54 played five Test matches, five other first-class matches and seven other games, three of them on a two-week stop-over in Bermuda that included Christmas.

The South African cricket team toured England in the 1955 season to play a five-match Test series against England. England won the series 3–2 with no matches drawn.

The West Indian cricket team in England in 1973 played 17 first-class matches including three Tests. The team won the series against England by two matches to nil, with one drawn game. It also won the Prudential Trophy for the one-day series.

The English cricket team in the West Indies in 1934–35 was a cricket touring party sent to the West Indies under the auspices of the Marylebone Cricket Club for a tour lasting 2+12 months in 1934–35. The team played four Test matches against the West Indian cricket team, winning one match but losing two – the first series defeat of an English side by the West Indies.

The English cricket team in the West Indies in 1959–60 played five Test matches, eight other first-class matches and two minor games. England won the Test series by one match to nil, with the other four matches being drawn.

The West Indies cricket team toured Australia in the 1951–52 season and played five Test matches against Australia. The series was billed as the "World Championship of cricket", with both teams having beaten England in the previous 18 months. In the event, the series was a disappointment with Australia winning fairly easily by four matches to one.

The West Indies cricket team toured Australia in the 1960–61 season under the captaincy of Frank Worrell. Both Worrell and his opposing captain, Richie Benaud, encouraged their teams to play attacking cricket. The first Test of the five match series ended in a dramatic tie, the first of only two instances in Test cricket. Though West Indies narrowly lost the series 2–1, with one draw in addition to the tie, they might easily have won both the last two matches and taken the series 3–1. They took much credit for contributing to such an exciting series and made themselves extremely popular with the Australian public. Prior to their departure from Australia, the team were paraded through Melbourne in open-top cars on 17 February 1961, and were cheered by enormous crowds.

The West Indian cricket team in England in 1963 played 30 first-class matches of which they won 15, lost 2 and drew 13. West Indies played five Tests and won the series against England by three matches to one, with one game drawn.

The West Indies cricket team toured England in the 1939 season to play a three-match Test series against England. England won the series 1–0 with two matches drawn. A total of 25 first-class matches were played and the West Indian side won eight of them and lost six, with the others drawn. The tour was abandoned a few days after the final test match because of the worsening international situation with the Second World War imminent. The last six matches from 26 August to 12 September were cancelled.

The West Indies cricket team toured England in the 1950 season to play a four-match Test series against England.

The West Indies cricket team toured England in the 1966 season to play a five-match Test series against England. West Indies won the series 3–1 with one match drawn.

The West Indies cricket team toured England in the 1969 season to play a three-match Test series against England. England won the series 2–0 with one match drawn. After this, England would not win another test series against the West Indies for 31 years.

This is a chronological list of defining events in the Development of the Test captaincy of the West Indies cricket team.

The Australian cricket team toured the West Indies in the 1972–73 season to play a five-match Test series against the West Indies. Australia won the series 2–0 with three matches drawn. Australia therefore kept the Sir Frank Worrell Trophy.

The England national cricket team toured the West Indies from January to April 1948 and played four Test matches against the West Indies cricket team. The first two Tests were drawn and West Indies won the last two to take the series 2–0. England were captained by Gubby Allen, though Ken Cranston was stand-in skipper in the first Test. West Indies began with George Headley as captain but he was badly injured in the first Test and replaced for the rest of the series by John Goddard.

The West Indies cricket team toured India, Pakistan and Ceylon from October 1948 to March 1949 and played a five-match Test series against the India national cricket team. West Indies won the Test series 1–0 with four matches being drawn. The West Indians played three matches in Pakistan in November and four matches in Ceylon in February.

The West Indies cricket team toured India from November 1958 to February 1959 and played a five-match Test series against the India national cricket team. The West Indies won the series 3–0. The West Indies were captained by Gerry Alexander while India used four different captains in the series, Ghulam Ahmed leading in two Tests.