Rohan KANHAI

Rohan Kanhai was the most spectacular of the West Indies stroke-makers of the early 1960s, often pulling himself off his feet with the savagery of his strokes. As his hair became grey he became more orthodox, but his appetite for runs did not diminish. He joined Warwickshire in 1968 and as he returned to the dressing room after his first big score his team-mates stood to applaud. "That's the third time I've got out in the 250s, " grumbled Kanhai. He first came to England in 1957 as the West Indies wicket-keeper, but it was soon obvious that batting was his forte. Kanhai made 256 against India in Calcutta in 1958-59, followed by 217 against Pakistan at Lahore a few weeks later. There were two centuries in the Adelaide Tests of 1960-61 and runs all through the 1960s, with 129 and 121 against Australia in the West Indies in 1964-65, 104 at the Oval in 1966 and 153 against England in Trinidad in 1968. He returned to the side with 158 not out against India in Jamaica in 1971 and took over the captaincy in the series against New Zealand, Australia and England, when he scored 157 at the Oval. His last series as captain, against England in the Caribbean in 1973-74, was less successful, with a top score of 44. A surprise come-back in the 1975 World Cup saw him bat superbly in the final, unselfishly feeding the strike to the in-form Clive Lloyd and making 55 himself. (Bob Harragan)