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Test Cricket Tours - West Indies to New Zealand 1955-56

 

 

Tour of New Zealand 1955-56              Captain:  Denis Atkinson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eighth West Indies Test tour

 

 

Second Test-playing tour of New Zealand by West Indies

     

 

(December 1955 - April 1956)

 

John Goddard, resuming his good relations with the Board, was appointed player-manager.  He had to lead the side in their first match because Atkinson had sprained his ankle and Pairaudeau was suffering from a cold. Discord when England visited the Caribbean in January 1954 bottle throwing at Bourda and Nunes accusing the English of rudeness to West Indian officials and politicians

Alfie Roberts, the first cricketer from the small islands (St Vincent) to play for West Indies, had played no first-class cricket before the tour and was still at school. However, he was not West Indies' youngest tourist, being three months older at the time of selection than Jeffrey Stollmeyer had been in 1939 and two months older than Derek Sealy in 1930-31.

On their outward journey the tourists played against Fiji at Suva. Fiji scored a total of only 91 but West Indies in reply could make just 63 and lost by 28 runs.

West Indies won the first three Tests against New Zealand comfortably. In each match Everton Weekes scored a century.  Later on amidst scenes of great excitement New Zealand won the fourth Test match at Auckland, their first victory in Test cricket.

 

 

Other West Indies tours

 

 

Previous tour

New Zealand 1951-52

 

Next tour

To England 1957

 

 

 

Next tour of New Zealand

1968-69

 

 

 

Members of the Test tour party (15)

 

 

Opening batsmen Hammond Furlonge, Bruce Pairaudeau

Middle-order batsmen:John Goddard, Alfie Roberts, Collie Smith, Everton Weekes

Wicket-keepers: Alfie Binns, Clairmont Depeiza

All-rounders: Denis Atkinson, Gary Sobers 

Spin bowlers:Sonny Ramadhin, Alfred Valentine

Fast bowlers: Frank King, Tom Dewdney, Wilfred Edun.

 

 

D S Atkinson

B

29

RHB      RM/OB    captain

 

A P Binns

Ja

26

WK

 

C C Depeiza

B

28

WK

 

D T Dewdney

Ja

22

RFM

 

W Edun

BG

25

RM

 

H A Furlonge

T

21

RHB

 

J D C Goddard

B

36

RHB     player-manager

 

F M King

B

29

RF

 

B H Pairaudeau

BG

24

RHB       vice-captain

 

S Ramadhin

T

26

OB

 

A T Roberts

CI

18

RHB

 

O G Smith

Ja

22

RHB      OB

 

G S Sobers

B

19

LHB       SLA

 

A L Valentine

Ja

25

SLA

 

E D Weekes

B

30

RHB

 

 

 

FLAG_west_Indies 
 

Regional representation

 

B – Barbados (6)

BG - British Guiana (2)

CI - Combined Islands (1)

Ja –  Jamaica (4)

T – Trinidad (2)

  

 

  

  

Average age of  team at time of first Test match

 

(3 February 1956) :

      25 yrs 10 months

 

 

 

Test Appearances made before the tour

 

Weekes 34,  Ramadhin 24,  Valentine 22,  Goddard 19,  Atkinson 15,  King 12,  Pairaudeau 7,  Sobers 5,  Smith 4,  Depeiza 3,  Binns 2,  Dewdney 2,  Furlonge 1,  Roberts 0,  Edun 0.

 

 

 

 

 

Tour Officials

 

John Goddard

Player-Manager

W Watts

Baggage / scorer

   ?

Physiotherapist

 

 

 

 

 

 

Selectors

 

C Marley,  E J Marsden,  John Goddard (Barbados) and Ken Wishart.

 

 

 

 

 

Selection

 

The appointments of Denis Atkinson as captain, Bruce Pairaudeau as vice-captain and John Goddard as manager were made by 22 July 1954.

 

Unavailable:  Roy Marshall,  Clyde Walcott,  Frank Worrell,  Jeffrey Stollmeyer.

Tour Party Announced :  13 November 1955.

Not selected :

Rumours that Bruce Pairaudeau was unable to go after all, and that his place would be taken by Allan Rae, were denied and proved unfounded.

 

 

Time between selection and departure from West Indies

   39 days

 (13 November - 22 December)

 

 

 

 

Travel

Port of Spain   T    Wellington

               ‘Southern Cross’

 

 

The players assembled in Trinidad.  Ramadhin and Valentine arrived from England on the 'Southern Cross'  by which boat the team left Port of Spain at midnight on 22 December 1955.

The team played (and lost) a match on Fiji and reached Wellington on 16 January, thence travelling to Auckland for their first match.

 

 

Time spent in New Zealand

   68 days

(16 January - 24 March)

 

 

 

 

On-tour selection panel

 

Denis Atkinson,  John Goddard,  Bruce Pairaudeau,  Everton Weekes.

 

 

 

 

Reinforcements

 

None.

 

 

 

 

 

Fixtures/Results

 

  Suva, Fiji

Fiji

Lost 28 r

 

 

 

Auckland

Auckland

Won 8 w

Hamilton

Waikato

Won inns 51 r

Christchurch

Canterbury

Drawn

Invercargyll

Southland

Won 5 w

DUNEDIN

NEW ZEALAND  First Test

WON inns 71 r

Oamaru

North Otago

Won 174 r

Wellington

Wellington

Won inns 87 r

Nelson

Nelson

Drawn

CHRISTCHURCH

NEW ZEALAND  Second Test

WON inns 64 r

Wanganui

Central Districts

Won 147 r

Napier

Hawkes Bay

Drawn

WELLINGTON

NEW ZEALAND  Third Test

WON 9 w

AUCKLAND

NEW ZEALAND  Fourth Test

LOST 190 r

Whangarei

Northland

Won 8 w

Palmerston North

New Zealand Colts

Won inns 35 r

 

 

 

 

 

Time spent in New Zealand before First Test:

 18 days

(16 January - 3 February)

 

 

 

Time from end of final Test until departure from  New Zealand   11 days

(13 March - 24 March)

 

 

 

 

Test appearances on tour

 

4  -   Atkinson,  Pairaudeau,  Ramadhin,  Smith,  Sobers,  Valentine,  Weekes.

3  -   Binns,  Dewdney,  Goddard.

2  -   Depeiza,  Furlonge,  King.

1 -    Roberts

0 -    Edun

 

 

 

 

Highlights

 

  Ramadhin (6 for 23) dismissed New Zealand for a total of 74 in the opening Test match

   Everton Weekes scored a century in each of the first three Test matches; he also scored five consecutively in tour matches

   Denis Atkinson took 7 for 53 in 40 overs, opening the bowling at Dunedin.

 

 

 

 

 

Tour Summary

 

 

  P

 W

L

D

Aban

Test Matches

   4

  3

1

0

-

Other first-class matches

   5

  4

0

1

-

ϯ Minor matches

   7

  4

1

2

-

All Matches

16

11

2

3

-

 

 

 

 

Return to West Indies

 

Wellington     T     Port of Spain

                 ‘Tamaroa’

 

 

Because of the delayed departure of the West Indies team from New Zealand, the tourists played an extra

match against New Zealand Colts team at Palmerston North on March 17, 19 and 20.

 

Weekes, Ramadhin, Sobers and Smith flew out from Whenuapai on 21 March to play in the unofficial 'Test' at arranged by E W Swanton.

 

The remainder left Wellington on 24 March on the 'Tamaroa', via Panama, to Trinidad.  Atkinson stayed a while on Trinidad but Goddard, Depeiza and King flew to Seawell Airport, Barbados, on 22 April.

 

 

 

Time away from West Indies

  122 days 

 (22 December to  22 April)

 

 

 

 

Finances

 

 

 

 

 

Published accounts of the tour

 

 

 

 

 

Postscript

 

 

 

 



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