Sonny Ramadhin, CM (1 May 1929 – 27 February 2022) was a West Indian cricketer, and was a dominant bowler of the 1950s.
He is most famous for his performance in the West Indies' 1950 tour of England, which was immortalised in the song "Victory Calypso".
[1] He was also well known for his ability to turn the ball both ways and he was also largely known for using three short-legs along with close in fielders on the off-side during his playing days in order to exert more pressure on the batsmen.
[6] Under the captaincy and coaching of Oscar Roach, who was also born in Esperance Village, he later played for the Palmiste Club and the Trinidad Leaseholds team.
[4] His trials for the West Indian team were two first-class matches bowling for Trinidad versus Jamaica, where he took 12 wickets at an average of 19.25.
[11] England won the first match of the series at Old Trafford, but in the second Test, at Lord's, the West Indies recorded a 326-run victory, thanks to Clyde Walcott's 168 not out in the second innings, and to the bowling of Ramadhin (11 for 152) and Valentine (7 for 127).
[15] He and fellow spinner Alf Valentine continued to dominate and wreaking havoc on the English batting in the 1950 series, taking 59 wickets between them.
"[18] He also received praise from former English player Denis Compton who described Ramadhin as "the best match winning bowler in the world".
His international career came to a close in 1960 when Lance Gibbs started to make an impact as the lead spinner for West Indies especially taking over the reins from Ramadhin in historic test series against Australia in 1960-61.
[25] In June 1988, Ramadhin was celebrated on the 75c Trinidad and Tobago stamp alongside the Barbados Cricket Buckle.