THE WISDEN Jury, headed by Gleaner Contributing Editor Tony Becca, has announced the four wild cards who join the list of 26 West Indian cricketers elected by the public.
The four now complete the list of 30 cricketers to be submitted to the Wisden Jury for possible selection as one of the Five Scotiabank West Indian Jubilee Cricketers.
The four wild cards are:
CLYDE WALCOTT, a glorious batsman with a stunning square-cut. He took West Indian cricket to a new level alongside Everton Weekes and Frank Worrell in the 1940s and '50s. He was president of the West Indies Cricket Board in 1993 and later he succeeded Sir Colin Cowdrey as chairman of ICC. He was himself knighted in 1994.
WES HALL was the West Indies' first great post-war fast bowler. After one of the longest run-ups in Test cricket, he bowled genuinely fast and he could do it all day. Hall enjoyed the dramatic moment as much as anyone: he bowled the last over of the first tied Test, at Brisbane in 1960-61. He took 192 wickets in 48 Tests (exactly four a game), with best figures of 7-69 against England at 1959-60, when he was at his frightening fastest. He later became a politician and then an ordained minister.
ALFRED VALENTINE was one of the famous Spin Twins who destroyed England in 1950. Valentine, at age 20, was the youngest member of the West Indies. He stunned the world in his first Test when he took the first eight wickets in England's first innings in the first Test at Old Trafford. In a fairytale performance, Valentine took 33 wickets in the series including six for 39 in the second innings, in the fourth at The Oval.
ALVIN KALLICHARAN was positive proof that small can be beautiful in Test cricket. He had poise, balance, orthodoxy, a full range of strokes off either foot and a bat that, because of its size relative to him, appeared far too large to a generation of hapless bowlers. Kallicharan took on the captaincy of West Indies in 1977-8 when Clive Lloyd resigned.
The hard-working Jury's final shortlist of the top 15 players will be revealed in Saturday's Gleaner. From this list Wisden's Five Jubilee Cricketers will be selected.
The top five West Indian cricketers will be announced at the Scotiabank West Indian Jubilee Gala on July 27 in Birmingham, England.
