Best remembered for his role of effecting the run out which resulted in the first drawn test match (West Indies vs Australia) in cricket history back in 1960, Guyanese legend Joe Solomon passed away in New York yesterday at the age of 93.
Solomon who until his death was considered the oldest living West Indian cricketer, was born in Port Mourant, Berbice, in then British Guiana. He is the only player in first-class cricket history to score hundreds in his first three innings, for British Guiana in 1956–57 and 1957–58. He was selected to tour India in 1958–59 with the West Indies team. He was successful in the Test series, scoring a century in the Fifth Test at Delhi and finishing the series with 351 runs.
Solomon continued to serve Guyanese cricket in various capacities after his retirement from playing, including the presidency of the Guyana Cricket Board and he spent several years as a selector. He was also awarded the Golden Arrow of Achievement by the government of Guyana.
Writing about the Tied Test and Solomon in An Abounding Joy: Essays on Sport by Ian McDonald, Historian Clem Seecharan said: “This Tied Test in Brisbane was fit for the Gods. Joe, in his self-effacing way, said he was the beneficiary of divine intervention. But, in 2009, he spoke to Guyanese educationist, Julius Nathoo, about the magical moment. It should be noted that Joe and Julius were Christian Indo-Guyanese from Plantation Port Mourant, in the county of Berbice. John Trim, Rohan Kanhai, Basil Butcher, Joe Solomon, Ivan Madray and Alvin Kallicharran (all Test cricketers for the West Indies) were from this extraordinary plantation. It is also noteworthy that Julius Nathoo, Joe Solomon, Basil Butcher and Ivan Madray attended the Corentyne High School: education and cricket (what I have called muscular learning) were integral to the mobility aspirations of these young colonials. This is what Joe recalled for Julius:
“I knew the score was tied; I knew it was the last ball of the over [it was, in fact, the second last ball of the last over of the match]; I knew that if the Australian batsmen cross over for a single, the West Indies would lose the Test match. Then Wes Hall delivered his ball and the next thing I saw was the ball coming towards me at square-leg and the batsmen crossing for a single. My adrenalin pumping, my brain stopped thinking, then everything seemed to happen in slow motion. I was about 50 yards away from the stumps. I ran forward, scooped up the ball and in one motion threw it with all my might at the one stump in view. The music of the ball hitting the stumps and dislodging the bails has never stopped ringing in my ears. All the players were on top of me and I was seeing stars.
“It was the most unforgettable moment of my Test cricket career. Looking back, I made that throw in practice several times. Always I aimed right over the bails at the wicket-keeper s gloves. This time there was no time for that. Instinctively, I knew there was only one option: I had to hit the stumps. The rest was history. I am so happy that I was able to do it for the West Indies and Guyana, but specially for Port Mourant and my alma mater, Corentyne High School”.
