Honest lessons from an orphan child-cricketer

 Would you remember the name of the famous West Indies spinner of the 1950s named Ramadhin?  At Delph CC in Yorkshire he was the pro at 48 (!) when I played as an amateur in 1977.

Born an orphan in Trinidad in 1929, Christian missionaries gave refuge and schooling. Would do odd jobs in sugar plantations where his forefathers had gone from Eastern India years ago. While playing rubber-ball cricket, one Barbadian cricketer Clarence Skinner saw his bowling potential and informed the Trinidad cricket authorities. Outstanding performance in 2 trials confirmed his sea voyage to represent West Indies.

His sing-song voice told me, “I discovered England in 1950!”

“Discovered England?” I stammered.

“Yes, for myself. But floating on the sea for 10 days was scary!”

In England the 20-year old’s off-spin and leg-spin – both finger-spun with the same grip – bamboozled the batters, helping West Indies to defeat England 3-1, first ever Test and series victory on English soil. Along with another youngster the left-arm orthodox Alf Valentine, they were the toast of the Caribbean supporters, who launched into their delightfully typical guitar and drum ritual:  

              Those two little pals of mine,    Ramadhin and Valentine.

This calypso is the fantastic forerunner of many more that followed.

After a successful Test cricket career Ramadhin dropped anchor at a Lancashire village in UK and owned a pub. Extremely popular he was with all and sundry because of his helpful nature. Ramadhin was the epitome of modesty and humour.

When I first met him at Delph CC, I was amazed at the great cricketer’s simplicity. I asked him a few questions about life in Trinidad and in UK. His squeaky, brown voice whispered, “Are you from Scotland Yard?”

“No, no.” I was embarrassed.

Raised his eye-brows, “Then how do you know so much about me, Raj?”

“Because of your world-wide fame. Every cricket follower knows your cricketing credentials.”

A mischievous smile surfaced, “Well, when I first arrived in England at the seaport a newspaper reporter asked me my name. I told him Ramadhin. He said, ‘That cannot be. You must have a first name or a surname to go with Ramadhin.’

Told him, ‘One man; one name. What’s wrong with that?’

Clyde Walcott’s huge frame appeared and in his hoarse voice said, ‘We call him Sonny. That’s his first name.’

The reporter was still insistent, ‘Surely that’s his pet name. First name, please.’

Everton (Weekes) was around. Straight face, in all earnestness, he said, ‘His full name is Kantaram Tukaram Ramadhin!’ As simple as that, in a flash I became KT Ramadhin! Everton’s wit went down pretty well. Found no reason to object!”

Actually so. Doyen of cricket statisticians Roy Webber, historian Maurice Golesworthy and the former Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley in their books have kept the initials K and T prominent! Wisden however stuck to ‘Sonny’.

Reminiscing Ram added, “Oh! I tell you we were a fun-loving team. Always cracking jokes, even on the field!”

 “You know, Raju, I love the Brits. They are just crazy about cricket scores and royalty gossip! They don’t worry about anything else!”

Ram never bothered about field-placing, “I aim at the stumps and concentrate on my accuracy. Why worry about the supposed weakness of others.” In his debut series so innocent was he that once after getting Len Hutton (then world’s premier batter) out, he innocently asked who the batter was!

Always wore shirts with billowing full-sleeves buttoned at the wrists, perhaps to hide his grip. At just 5 feet 3, the frail frame looked like the Biblical David in confrontation with Goliaths. The unflappable man never bothered about reputations, situations, etc. He was always in a tension-free world of his own.

Always wore a cap when bowling! Never saw anyone else do so. When asked, promptly he reasoned, “Batters wear cap to keep the sun out, right? Same with me. Whenever I am playing in the sun, I wear my cap whether batting, fielding or bowling. If you need the shade for batting, you need the shade for bowling as well, eh?” Try to contradict that!

Simple meaningful answers. Had a mind totally free of cobwebs, my friend ‘Ram’. Went through life smiling, when not yawning!!

Ramadhin   continuation

While on Ramadhin, wife and co-researcher Seema dived deep into Wikipedia to note that KT Sonny Ramadhin’s son-in-law Willie Hogg was a first-class cricketer too. He bowled right-hand fast for Lancashire from 1976 to 1980. Later for Warwickshire from 1981 to 1983.

Still later between 2001 and 2014 Ramadhin’s grandson – Kylie Hogg – too played for Lancashire as a right-arm fast bowler. After finishing his Test career Ramadhin himself played a few seasons for his adopted county, Lancashire. That means all 3 represented Lancashire in the English County Cricket Championships.

Amazing indeed to find 3 generations of a single family playing first-class cricket. And that too for the same team! Exceptional sports genes in the family, without doubt.

Photo courtesy Getty Images.