Tino Best facts for kids

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Tino Best

Personal information
Full name	Tino la Bertram Best
Born	(1981-08-26) 26 August 1981 (age 43) Saint Michael, Barbados
Nickname	Animal, Bobski
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm fast
Role	Bowler
Relations	Carlisle Best (great-uncle)
International information
National side	West Indies (2003–2014)
Test debut (cap 251)	1 May 2003 v Australia
Last Test	19 December 2013 v New Zealand
ODI debut (cap 123)	15 May 2004 v Bangladesh
Last ODI	4 January 2014 v New Zealand
Domestic team information
Years	Team
2001/02–2015/16	Barbados
2010	Yorkshire
2013–2014	St Lucia Zouks
2016	Hampshire
2016	St Kitts & Nevis Patriots
2017	Barbados Tridents
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA Matches 25 26 121 68 Runs scored 401 76 1,593 195 Batting average 12.53 9.50 12.06 10.83 100s/50s 0/1 0/0 0/2 0/0 Top score 95 24 95 24 Balls bowled 3,716 1,300 15,609 2,902 Wickets 57 34 330 88 Bowling average 40.19 34.02 29.37 29.00 5 wickets in innings 2 0 13 1 10 wickets in match 0 0 2 0 Best bowling 6/40 4/35 7/33 5/24 Catches/stumpings 6/– 4/– 42/– 15/–
Source: ESPNCricinfo

Tino la Bertram Best (born 26 August 1981) is a former West Indian cricket player. He is known for being a fast bowler. From 2002, he played for his home team, Barbados. He also played for the English club Yorkshire in 2010.

Tino Best played his first Test match in May 2003. A year later, he played his first One Day International (ODI). In May 2004, he got a back injury. This injury stopped him from playing cricket until March of the next year.

In 2008, Best joined the Indian Cricket League. He had not played international cricket since 2006. He later returned to the West Indies team. This happened when some main players had disagreements with the West Indies Cricket Board.

On 10 June 2012, Tino Best made a new record. He scored 95 runs against England at Edgbaston. This was the highest score ever by a number 11 batsman in Test cricket. Later, in 2013, another player named Ashton Agar scored 98 runs, breaking Best's record. Tino Best also had a great partnership with Denesh Ramdin in that same match. They scored 143 runs together. This is one of the highest partnerships for the last wicket in Test cricket history.

Starting His Cricket Journey

Tino Best began his professional cricket career on 25 January 2002. He played for Barbados against Guyana in the Busta Cup. He was one of the first bowlers for his team. In the first part of the game, he took four wickets for 50 runs. Barbados won that match by 162 runs.

By the end of his first season, Best had taken 17 wickets in 5 matches. His average was 24.29 runs per wicket. He also achieved one "five-wicket haul," which means taking five wickets in one innings.

Becoming an International Player

When Tino Best was called to play for the West Indies Test team against Australia, he was Barbados' best wicket-taker. He had taken 39 wickets in the Carib Beer Cup during the 2002/03 season.

Best was first brought in to cover for another fast bowler, Jermaine Lawson, who was sick. When Best played his first Test match, he bowled alongside Lawson. The West Indies team lost this match, and Best did not take any wickets.

After his first Test, Best was not chosen for the West Indies' trips overseas. Other fast bowlers like Fidel Edwards and Jerome Taylor started to play more. Back in domestic cricket, he struggled to get picked for Barbados' one-day team.

However, he improved his wicket count in the first-class games. He took 49 wickets, including three "five-wicket hauls." Because of this, he was called back to the West Indies team in March 2004. This was for a series against England.

Tino Best got his first international wickets in his second Test match. This was the first game in a four-match series against England. His very first wicket was the batsman Graham Thorpe. England won the series 3–0. Best was the West Indies' top wicket-taker in the series, with 12 wickets from four matches. Each wicket cost him about 25.08 runs.

Challenges and Comebacks

From June to August 2004, the West Indies team toured England. Best played in a match at Lord's. During this game, he got a back injury. This injury stopped him from playing for the rest of the series. Everyone hoped he would get better in a month, but the injury was more serious. He did not play cricket again until March 2005.

In June 2005, during a Test match against Pakistan, Best had a tough start. But then, he took four wickets very quickly, helping his team. However, it was not enough for the West Indies to win the match.

In July 2005, Tino Best was fined half his match fee. This was because he bowled three "beamers" (a type of illegal delivery) during a Test against Sri Lanka. After this, he was not chosen for the Test team for a while. Tino also appeared in a cricket movie called Hit for Six, playing a Barbados cricket player.

Playing for Different Teams

Even though Tino Best played well for Barbados, he did not play international cricket much after May 2006. In February 2008, he signed with the Indian Cricket League. He played Twenty20 cricket for Mumbai Champs during his time there. He also played Twenty20 for Barbados that season.

In July 2009, there was a disagreement about pay between the West Indies players and the West Indies Cricket Board. Because of this, a team with many new players was chosen for the series against Bangladesh. Tino Best was part of this team. The West Indies lost the series 2–0. All the players who played during this time were given special contracts by the West Indies Cricket Board, including Best.

In April 2010, Best signed a contract with Yorkshire County Cricket Club in England. He played well at first, and his contract was extended. But then his performance dropped, and he was eventually removed from the team in July. He took 18 wickets in nine first-class matches for the club. He was more successful in one-day matches, taking ten wickets in five games. In August 2010, Best's special contract with the West Indies was not renewed.

Tino Best played very well in the 2011/12 season for his domestic team. He took 17 wickets in first-class matches. This led to him being called back to the international team in March 2012. He was chosen for the West Indies' ODI team to play against Australia. Although he did not play in that series, he joined the Test team two months later when they toured England. This was to cover for an injured fast bowler named Shannon Gabriel.

In July 2014, Tino Best played for the Rest of the World team. This was in a special match at Lord's to celebrate 200 years of the famous cricket ground.