English cricket team in the West Indies in 1953–54
July 20, 2023
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.
Ultimately the tour could be considered a success for England in cricketing terms, as they came back from 2–0 down to draw the series 2–2 against strong opposition. However the tour had its problems, both on and off the field. The West Indians were disappointed by the English party's reluctance to socialise and the defensive nature of much of their cricket. The English players were dissatisfied with the quality of some of the umpiring. There was crowd trouble at two of the Tests. Tony Lock was called for throwing in the first Test.
The team of 16 selected by MCC for the tour was arguably the strongest available. It was the first England touring team in modern times to be led by a professional captain.
Only Palmer, Moss and Suttle had not played Test cricket before the tour, and only Suttle did not play in any of the Tests on the tour.
West Indian team
The West Indies had played a home five-Test series against the Indians early in 1953, winning the series by 1–0 with four matches drawn. Of the team that played India, Allan Rae had retired and wicketkeeper Ralph Legall was not chosen for any of the Tests against England. The following existing Test players were selected in the sides to play England:
Five Test matches were played. The West Indies won the first two, England the third. The fourth match was left drawn after six days and England won the fifth and final match to draw the series.
The West Indies introduced three new players – Frederick, Holt and McWatt – and recalled Headley and Kentish. In so doing, Headley became the oldest cricketer to play for West Indies. With consistent batting, West Indies made 417, with five players reaching 50 and Holt top-scoring with 94. After Holt was out, adjudged lbw, the wife and son of the umpire, Perry Burke, were attacked in the crowd, though they were not seriously hurt.[1] England's reply was woeful, Ramadhin and Valentine taking seven wickets in a total of 170 all out. West Indies captain Stollmeyer was booed by the crowd for not enforcing the follow-on, and he declared at 209 for six wickets, setting England 457 to win. At 277 for two, with Watson making a century, the game looked even. But England lost seven wickets for eight runs and were all out for 316, Kentish taking five wickets for 49 runs. Lock was no-balled for throwing, the first such instance in a Test match since Ernie Jones at Melbourne for Australia against England in 1897–98.
Walcott scored 220 out of a first-innings total of 383. England then batted painfully slowly, taking 150 overs to make 181 runs. Stollmeyer again did not enforce the follow-on: Holt made a maiden Test century, 166 out of a total of 292 for two declared. Needing 495 to win, England reached 258 for three before another collapse left them all out for 313.
England batted first and made 435 through Hutton's 169 and consistent batting from the others. Though Weekes made 94 and McWatt and the injured Holt added 99 for the eighth wicket, West Indies were all out for 251. The crowd threw bottles and other objects when McWatt was adjudged run out, but Hutton refused to take his players from the pitch. Following on, West Indies fared little better, scoring 256 and leaving England just 73 to win. Moss, who made his debut in the first Test, took five wickets.
On a batsman's wicket, the sides took the first five days to complete the first two innings. West Indies' 681 for eight declared was the highest score by a West Indies cricket team: Weekes made 206, Worrell 167 and Walcott 124. England made 537 in reply, with centuries from May and Compton and 92 from Graveney. The game petered out on the sixth day.
West Indies, winning the toss, were bowled out for 139 on what had appeared to be a perfect pitch for batting. Bailey took seven wickets for 34 runs, his best Test return. England's reply of 414 was based on a double century for Hutton and some later hitting by Wardle. Facing arrears of 275, West Indies lost wickets consistently, and though Walcott made his third century of the series, England needed just 72 to win. The match was the Test debut of Sobers, aged 17: he scored 14 not out and 26 and took four wickets.
In the match against Barbados, in which MCC recorded their first victory for 50 years, Suttle top-scored in both MCC innings, but still failed to be picked for the Tests. He never played for England.
In the match against British Guiana, Watson scored 257 and Graveney 231 as MCC made 607. Their fourth wicket stand of 402 is, as of 2012, the 14th highest of all fourth wicket partnerships in first-class cricket.[2]
In minor matches, MCC won one and drew two in Bermuda, won one and drew one in Jamaica, beat the Leeward Islands and drew with the Windward Islands, the latter two teams not being first-class in 1954.
Issues arising from the tour
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 1955 edition reported that the tour was beset by controversy. Billed as a kind of world championship, the Test series was subject to much partisanship on the part of both West Indians and English expatriates; umpiring decisions added to the controversy, with the MCC team feeling hard done by over several decisions by local umpires and the crowds reacting with violence over two decisions that went England's way in the First and Third Tests. Wisden recommended that the West Indies draw up a panel of umpires from all the countries rather than using local umpires in each match. But it also had harsh words for England players whose dissent was made public, and also for the excessive caution of the England team in the Second Test. The experiment of using a player-manager on a controversial tour, Wisden said, was also "not to be commended".
References
^"The end of the road". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
^"Statsguru". ESPN Cricinfo Statsguru. ESPN. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
Further reading
David Woodhouse, Who Only Cricket Know: Hutton's Men in the West Indies 1953–54, Fairfield Books, London, 2021
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 1955, pages 762 to 785
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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 Ultimately the tour could be considered a success for England in cricketing terms as they came back from 2 0 down to draw the series 2 2 against strong opposition However the tour had its problems both on and off the field The West Indians were disappointed by the English party s reluctance to socialise and the defensive nature of much of their cricket The English players were dissatisfied with the quality of some of the umpiring There was crowd trouble at two of the Tests Tony Lock was called for throwing in the first Test Contents 1 English team 2 West Indian team 3 Test series summary 3 1 First Test 3 2 Second Test 3 3 Third Test 3 4 Fourth Test 3 5 Fifth Test 4 Other matches 5 Issues arising from the tour 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External sourcesEnglish team EditThe team of 16 selected by MCC for the tour was arguably the strongest available It was the first England touring team in modern times to be led by a professional captain The team was Leonard Hutton captain Charles Palmer player manager Trevor Bailey Denis Compton Godfrey Evans wicketkeeper Tom Graveney Jim Laker Tony Lock Peter May Alan Moss Dick Spooner wicketkeeper Brian Statham Ken Suttle Fred Trueman Johnny Wardle Willie Watson Only Palmer Moss and Suttle had not played Test cricket before the tour and only Suttle did not play in any of the Tests on the tour West Indian team EditThe West Indies had played a home five Test series against the Indians early in 1953 winning the series by 1 0 with four matches drawn Of the team that played India Allan Rae had retired and wicketkeeper Ralph Legall was not chosen for any of the Tests against England The following existing Test players were selected in the sides to play England Jeff Stollmeyer captain Robert Christiani Gerry Gomez Frank King Bruce Pairaudeau Sonny Ramadhin Alf Valentine Clyde Walcott Everton Weekes Frank WorrellIn addition four players who had played in earlier Test series were recalled Denis Atkinson Wilfred Ferguson George Headley Esmond KentishThe West Indies introduced four players new to Test cricket during the series Michael Frederick John Holt Jr Cliff McWatt wicketkeeper Garfield SobersTest series summary EditFive Test matches were played The West Indies won the first two England the third The fourth match was left drawn after six days and England won the fifth and final match to draw the series First Test Edit 15 16 18 19 20 21 January 1954 6 day match ScorecardWest Indies v England417 155 4 overs JKC Holt 94 JB Statham 4 90 36 overs 170 89 2 overs PBH May 31 S Ramadhin 4 65 35 overs 209 6d 67 overs ED Weekes 90 GAR Lock 2 36 14 overs 316 129 3 overs W Watson 116 ESM Kentish 5 49 29 overs West Indies won by 140 runsSabina Park Kingston Jamaica Umpires P Burke and TA EwartWest Indies won the toss and elected to bat 17 January was taken as a rest day MC Frederick JKC Holt and CA McWatt all WIN and AE Moss ENG made their Test debuts The West Indies introduced three new players Frederick Holt and McWatt and recalled Headley and Kentish In so doing Headley became the oldest cricketer to play for West Indies With consistent batting West Indies made 417 with five players reaching 50 and Holt top scoring with 94 After Holt was out adjudged lbw the wife and son of the umpire Perry Burke were attacked in the crowd though they were not seriously hurt 1 England s reply was woeful Ramadhin and Valentine taking seven wickets in a total of 170 all out West Indies captain Stollmeyer was booed by the crowd for not enforcing the follow on and he declared at 209 for six wickets setting England 457 to win At 277 for two with Watson making a century the game looked even But England lost seven wickets for eight runs and were all out for 316 Kentish taking five wickets for 49 runs Lock was no balled for throwing the first such instance in a Test match since Ernie Jones at Melbourne for Australia against England in 1897 98 Second Test Edit 6 8 9 10 11 12 February 1954 6 day match ScorecardWest Indies v England383 125 1 overs CL Walcott 220 JC Laker 4 81 30 1 overs 181 150 5 overs L Hutton 72 S Ramadhin 4 50 53 overs 292 2d 96 overs JKC Holt 166 JB Statham 1 49 15 overs 313 139 4 overs DCS Compton 93 S Ramadhin 3 71 37 overs West Indies won by 181 runsKensington Oval Bridgetown Barbados Umpires HBD Jordan and JH WalcottWest Indies won the toss and elected to bat 7 February was taken as a rest day CH Palmer ENG made his Test debut Walcott scored 220 out of a first innings total of 383 England then batted painfully slowly taking 150 overs to make 181 runs Stollmeyer again did not enforce the follow on Holt made a maiden Test century 166 out of a total of 292 for two declared Needing 495 to win England reached 258 for three before another collapse left them all out for 313 Third Test Edit 24 25 26 27 February 1 2 March 1954 6 day match ScorecardEngland v West Indies435 220 overs L Hutton 169 S Ramadhin 6 113 67 overs 251 105 5 overs ED Weekes 94 JB Statham 4 64 27 overs 75 1 20 1 overs TW Graveney 33 DS Atkinson 1 34 7 overs 256 f o 117 3 overs JKC Holt 64 JH Wardle 3 24 12 3 overs England won by 9 wicketsBourda Georgetown British Guiana Umpires ES Gillette and B MenziesEngland won the toss and elected to bat 28 February was taken as a rest day England batted first and made 435 through Hutton s 169 and consistent batting from the others Though Weekes made 94 and McWatt and the injured Holt added 99 for the eighth wicket West Indies were all out for 251 The crowd threw bottles and other objects when McWatt was adjudged run out but Hutton refused to take his players from the pitch Following on West Indies fared little better scoring 256 and leaving England just 73 to win Moss who made his debut in the first Test took five wickets Fourth Test Edit 17 18 19 20 22 23 March 1954 6 day match ScorecardWest Indies v England681 8d 198 4 overs ED Weekes 206 DCS Compton 2 40 8 4 overs 537 221 2 overs Peter May 135 CL Walcott 3 52 34 overs 212 4d 55 overs FMM Worrell 56 TE Bailey 2 20 12 overs 98 3 30 overs W Watson 32 S Ramadhin 1 6 7 overs Match drawnQueen s Park Oval Port of Spain Trinidad Umpires EE Achong and K WoodsWest Indies won the toss and elected to bat 21 March was taken as a rest day On a batsman s wicket the sides took the first five days to complete the first two innings West Indies 681 for eight declared was the highest score by a West Indies cricket team Weekes made 206 Worrell 167 and Walcott 124 England made 537 in reply with centuries from May and Compton and 92 from Graveney The game petered out on the sixth day Fifth Test Edit 30 31 March 1 2 3 April 1954 6 day match ScorecardWest Indies v England139 60 4 overs CL Walcott 50 TE Bailey 7 34 16 overs 414 176 5 overs L Hutton 205 GS Sobers 4 75 28 5 overs 346 170 overs CL Walcott 116 JC Laker 4 71 50 overs 72 1 15 5 overs PBH May 40 FM King 1 21 4 overs England won by 9 wicketsSabina Park Kingston Jamaica Umpires P Burke and TA EwartWest Indies won the toss and elected to bat The match was scheduled for six days but completed in five GS Sobers WIN made his Test debut West Indies winning the toss were bowled out for 139 on what had appeared to be a perfect pitch for batting Bailey took seven wickets for 34 runs his best Test return England s reply of 414 was based on a double century for Hutton and some later hitting by Wardle Facing arrears of 275 West Indies lost wickets consistently and though Walcott made his third century of the series England needed just 72 to win The match was the Test debut of Sobers aged 17 he scored 14 not out and 26 and took four wickets Other matches EditThe MCC team played five first class matches winning against Jamaica Barbados British Guiana Guyana and Trinidad and drawing a second match against Jamaica In the match against Barbados in which MCC recorded their first victory for 50 years Suttle top scored in both MCC innings but still failed to be picked for the Tests He never played for England In the match against British Guiana Watson scored 257 and Graveney 231 as MCC made 607 Their fourth wicket stand of 402 is as of 2012 the 14th highest of all fourth wicket partnerships in first class cricket 2 In minor matches MCC won one and drew two in Bermuda won one and drew one in Jamaica beat the Leeward Islands and drew with the Windward Islands the latter two teams not being first class in 1954 Issues arising from the tour EditWisden Cricketers Almanack 1955 edition reported that the tour was beset by controversy Billed as a kind of world championship the Test series was subject to much partisanship on the part of both West Indians and English expatriates umpiring decisions added to the controversy with the MCC team feeling hard done by over several decisions by local umpires and the crowds reacting with violence over two decisions that went England s way in the First and Third Tests Wisden recommended that the West Indies draw up a panel of umpires from all the countries rather than using local umpires in each match But it also had harsh words for England players whose dissent was made public and also for the excessive caution of the England team in the Second Test The experiment of using a player manager on a controversial tour Wisden said was also not to be commended References Edit The end of the road ESPN Cricinfo Retrieved 14 August 2017 Statsguru ESPN Cricinfo Statsguru ESPN Retrieved 16 January 2013 Further reading EditDavid Woodhouse Who Only Cricket Know Hutton s Men in the West Indies 1953 54 Fairfield Books London 2021 Wisden Cricketers Almanack 1955 pages 762 to 785External sources EditEngland in West Indies 1953 54 at Cricinfo CricketArchive tour itinerary The second most controversial tour in history Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title English cricket team in the West Indies in 1953 54 amp oldid 1136141545, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
