Nobody does an exotic name like the West Indians.
Whether it be the use of Christian names that went out of fashion just before the Boer War, using another surname in place of a Christian name, or just generally winging it when filling out the birth certificate, cricketers from the Caribbean stand out from the crowd.
Just hearing some of their names can either transport you to paradise in the Leeward Islands, conjure up the warm sun and cold rum of Barbados, or strike fear into your heart if you are currently padded up and next in to bat.
Just take a stroll through the honour roll of the great West Indian players of the past – the likes of Sir Isaac Vivian Richards, Cuthbert Gordon Greenidge, Alvin Isaac Kallicharran, Sir Clive Hubert Lloyd and Sir Garfield St Aubrun Sobers. If those names don’t immediately conjure up the sound of bat on ball and a chanting crowd, then you have no soul.
The current touring team are no exception either, with Roston Lamar Chase, Anderson Phillip and Kemar Andre Jamal Roach all carrying on the tradition. Caribbean names just rock, and to demonstrate, here’s a team of exotically named West Indian cricketers you may not have heard of. (In batting order of course!)
1. Hammond Allan Furlonge
A right-hand batter who played a single test against Australia in 1955 and two tests against the Kiwis a year later.
2. Brenton Anthony Parchment
He offered a lot of promise after captaining the West Indies Under 19 team to victory against England but failed to kick on, playing just two tests in 2008.
3. Clayton Benjamin Lambert
A left-hander who didn’t mind a bit of a slog, he played five tests between 1991 and 1998.
4. Floyd Lamonte Reifer
That’s “Reifer”, not “Reefer” by the way. He was given six tests between 1997 and 2009 despite a top test score of just 29 runs.
5. Wavell Wayne Hinds
Hinds had a pretty impressive career for a guy with no footwork, scoring over 2,600 runs in his 45 test career. The left-handed batter was also a handy right-arm medium pacer.
6. Oscar Constantine Da Costa
Oscar Da Costa played five tests for the Windies back in the 1930s but didn’t set the world alight with either bat or ball.
7. Courtney Oswald Browne
A useful keeper/batsman who was in and out of the test and ODI teams between 1995 and 2005.
8. Eldine Ashworth Elderfield Baptiste
Easily my favourite West Indian cricketer’s name, but unfortunately Eldine wasn’t that good, averaging 35 with the ball and 23 with the bat in his test career, although he does have the distinction of winning every one of his ten tests.
9. Vanburn Alonzo Holder
Another personal favourite, whose main job in his test career was to bowl into the breeze while Wes Hall and Charlie Griffiths terrorised batsmen from the other end.
10. Vasbert Conniel Drakes
Seriously, has anyone else on the planet ever been named Vasbert, Vanburn or Eldine? Drakes was a right-arm fast-medium bowler who could bat a bit, with his best bowling performance in his 12 tests coming against Australia in 2003 when he took 5/93.
11. Elquemedo Tonito Willett MBE
Try saying that five times quickly! Elquemedo was a left-arm orthodox bowler who took just 11 wickets in his five tests in the mid-1970s.
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There they are, 11 exotically named West Indian Test cricketers and not a Greg, John, Peter or Steve amongst them. Some other interesting names that didn’t make the cut include:
• Snuffy Browne
West Indies Test cap Number One. He got the ball rolling.
• Anderson Cummins
Surely he must be able to bowl with a name like that!
• Jaswick Taylor
A very unusual Christian name to spice up a fairly common surname.
• Ryan O’Neal Hinds
Mum was obviously a fan.
• Dave Mohammed
Sounds like a compromise to me.
• Mahendra Nagamootoo
One for Billy Birmingham.
• Daren Ganga
Unfortunately, that’s Ganga with a “G”, not a “J”.
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