PARIS: Sonny Ramadhin, who has died at the age of 92, was one of the West Indies’ finest spin bowlers and, in tandem with Alf Valentine, fashioned a series win in England in 1950 which became lodged in calypso folklore.

“They complemented each other perfectly,” said the late West Indian cricket writer, broadcaster and historian Tony Cozier.

“Ramadhin, cap on, sleeves buttoned down to the wrists, presented mysteries which no English batsman unravelled for the entire summer.”

Sonny Ramadhin, who took 158 wickets in his 43 Tests, was born in St Charles in Trinidad on Mayday 1929.

Just 19, the 5 foot 4 inch (1.62m) off-spinner was selected for the 1950 tour on the strength of two matches for Trinidad against Jamaica in which he took 12 wickets.

When he travelled to England it was his first trip outside Trinidad and the first time he had bowled on grass rather than matting.

Ramadhin and fellow spinner Valentine bowled over 1,000 overs each on the tour, taking 258 wickets between them. In the Tests, the left-arm spinner Valentine, a month older than his spin partner, took 33 wickets to Ramadhin’s 26.

The powerful West Indies batting line-up which included the 3 Ws - Frank Worrell, Everton Weekes and Clyde Walcott - did the rest.

Ramadhin, who had just turned 20, was primarily an off-spinner but could also bowl a leg-break with no discernible change of action.

He had a bustling run and was unerringly accurate - he conceded just 1.97 runs per over during his Test career.

‘Those two pals of mine’

He made his debut in the opening Test, becoming the first of many East Indians to represent the West Indies.

He took two wickets in each innings as West Indies struggled on an underprepared pitch at Old Trafford, slipping to a heavy defeat. They hit back immediately, in the second Test at Lord’s where the spin twins grabbed cricketing immortality.