Alf Valentine facts for kids

Alfred Louis Valentine (born April 28, 1930 – died May 11, 2004) was a famous West Indian cricketer. He played in the 1950s and 1960s. He is best known for his amazing bowling during the West Indies' tour of England in 1950. His success was so special that it was even celebrated in a famous song called the Victory Calypso.

Alf Valentine's Amazing Start in Cricket

The 1950 Tour of England

In 1950, the West Indies went on a cricket tour to England. They had some fantastic batters, like the famous "three W's" (Clyde Walcott, Everton Weekes, and Frank Worrell). However, they didn't have many experienced bowlers.

So, they decided to take two young spinners with them. One was 20-year-old Alf Valentine, and the other was 21-year-old Sonny Ramadhin. Both had only played two first-class matches before. Alf Valentine was a surprising choice because he had only taken two wickets in those matches. But the West Indies captain, John Goddard, saw something special in him.

A Star is Born

At first, Alf Valentine didn't do very well in the early matches of the tour. It wasn't clear if he would play in the main Test matches. But then, in the very last warm-up match before the Tests, he showed his true talent. He took 8 wickets for only 26 runs, and then 5 wickets for 41 runs! This helped the West Indies win easily against Lancashire.

Because of this amazing performance, he was chosen for the Test team. In his very first Test match, he was incredible. He took the first eight wickets in England's first innings! Five of those wickets were taken before lunch on the first day. He ended up with 8 wickets for 104 runs in that innings. In the whole match, he took 11 wickets for 204 runs. He was the first bowler ever to take eight wickets in his first Test innings. This has only happened three times since then!

Victory in England

England won that first match. But in the second Test, played at Lord's, the West Indies made history. They won by 326 runs! This was thanks to Clyde Walcott's great batting and the brilliant bowling of Ramadhin (who took 11 wickets) and Valentine (who took 7 wickets). This was the West Indies' first-ever Test victory in England!

This historic win was celebrated in the famous Victory Calypso song, which said:

Second Test and West Indies won

With those two little pals of mine

Ramadhin and Valentine

The West Indies continued their success, winning the third and fourth Tests to win the whole series. Valentine took five wickets in the third Test and ten wickets in the fourth Test. He bowled a huge number of overs in the second innings of the third Test, which was a record at the time. Overall, Valentine took 33 wickets in the series. He bowled an incredible 422.5 overs, giving away very few runs.

During the entire tour, Alf Valentine played 21 matches and took 123 wickets. He was so good that he was chosen as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1951. This is a very special award in cricket.

Later Career and Life

Continuing to Play

After his amazing start in 1950, Alf Valentine's career didn't quite reach those same dramatic heights again. But he still played very well. In the West Indies' next Test series in Australia in 1951-52, he took 24 wickets. When India visited the West Indies in 1953, he took 28 wickets.

In 1954, he became the first West Indian player to reach 100 Test wickets. He achieved this in only his 19th Test match! In his later Test matches, from 1954 to 1962, he took 46 wickets. He was still a very good bowler who could stop the other team from scoring many runs. However, he didn't have the same attacking power as he did when he first started. On the 1957 tour of England, he had a difficult time and lost some of his confidence.

After his last Test match, Alf Valentine became the national coach for the Jamaica cricket team.

Personal Life

Alf Valentine was born in Kingston, Jamaica. He was married twice. With his first wife, Gwendolyn, he had four daughters. After Gwendolyn passed away, he moved to Florida with his second wife, Jacquelyn. Together, they did something wonderful: they fostered many children whose parents were in prison, giving them a loving home.

Alf Valentine passed away in Orlando, Florida in 2004, when he was 74 years old.