#OnThisDay: Headley to fore West Indies longest Test ever!
This week we take you back to 1930 – 92 years ago when West Indies hosted their first international home series. Back then, West Indies played four Test matches against England – the travelling team was called Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in those days. The historic first Test on Caribbean soil was in Barbados which ended in a draw, followed by a win for England in Trinidad.
The third in Guyana had great significance as West Indies won by 289 runs to record our first win in Test history. It was a celebration of West Indies greatness with George Headley making two centuries – 114 and 112. Opening batsman Clifford Roach also showed his brilliance 209 in the first innings, in a second wicket stand of 192 with Headley. Lord Learie Constantine, the legendary allrounder, featured with the ball taking 9-122 in the match.
Then came the fourth and final match at Sabina Park – which started on April 3 and was scheduled to end on April 11 – yes, you read that correctly – the match was played over 9 long days – making it the longest match in West Indies history.
Headley was again at the forefront for West Indies. In the second innings, faced with a daunting target of a whopping 836 to win, he made a monumental 223 – his first Test century on home soil in Jamaica. The maestro faced 385 balls and hit 28 fours as he added a century stand with captain Karl Nunes, who made 92.
In its annual recap, Wisden Almanack noted:
“Each side having won once and one game having been drawn, it was decided to play to a finish the fourth representative match, but rain prevented cricket on the eighth and ninth days. By that time the MCC team were due to return home so no result could be reached”.
It added:
: “Although when batting again MCC failed to repeat their huge success of the first innings, they set their opponents the appalling task of getting 836 runs. Headley made a great effort for his side, staying six hours and a half and hitting 28 fours. He and Nunes put on 228, the West Indies at the end being 427 behind with half their wickets in hand”.