The all-time West Indies Championship is shaping up quite brilliantly and after this week, we’ll have just one more territory (Guyana) to pick an all-time best team from.
This week figuring out who the best players from Trinidad and Tobago could not have been a more difficult prospect.
The twin-island republic has created some wonderful talents over the years it has been a part of the West Indies Championship and to find XI has been a task and a half.
One of the interesting things about the territory is the number of all-rounders of real quality it has produced. Those allrounders compete with the specialists in a real way, making picking the team on the strict premise of six batsmen, a wicketkeeper and four bowlers very interesting.
But here is our effort at doing so.
As is usual, we ask you, the fans, to help us pick this team. Comment on Facebook and let us know if we missed anybody.
Best XI

Jeffrey Stollmeyer
Jeffrey Stollmeyer’s contribution to cricket in the West Indies is a thing of legends, the batsman running the West Indies Board of Control during a tumultuous time that involved the Packer series. Before that though, Stollmeyer produced first-class cricket for Trinidad and Tobago that only Brian Lara would surpass, averaging 44.61 throughout a career that would include 14 centuries and 38 half-centuries in just 117 games.
First-Class career: 1938-1957
Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100s 50s
117 194 16 7942 324 44.61 14 38

Joey Carew
Joey Carew is the first man to lead Trinidad and Tobago to back-to-back Shell Shield titles. On the way to doing that, the legendary Trinidadian scored 13 centuries and 43 half-centuries at an average of 38.47. Carew was a stylish opening batsman, who, from the looks of him, should have scored more runs than he did, and he scored a lot.
First-Class career: 1955-1974
Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100s 50s
129 221 18 7810 182 38.47 13 43
Brian Lara
Brian Charles Lara’s name is always in the discussion when someone asks who is the greatest batsman of all time. The legendary left-hander made his presence felt in the First-Class arena as well, scoring 501 not out in a County Championship match for Warwickshire against Durham at Edgbaston. Those 501 runs can be added to a mammoth 22,156 the man dubbed The Prince of Port of Spain was to score in a fabulous career. He would end that career with not just the highest aggregate of runs for a Trinidad and Tobago batsman, but with the highest average of 51.88 and the most centuries and half-centuries, the number adding up to 65 and 88 respectively.
First-Class career: 1987-2008
Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100s 50s
261 440 13 22156 501* 51.88 65 88
Larry Gomes
It is interesting that Larry Gomes was seen as too diffident in the early days of his career, but those signs of a man lacking self-confidence were merely the coverings of a batsman learning what were his strengths and deciding to be the rock that would hold everything else in place without too much fanfare. That approach would lead to 32 first-class centuries and 63 half-centuries, figures that only the greatest batsman to come out of Trinidad and Tobago would eclipse. Gomes would end his first-class career with an average of 40.56, with only Brian Lara and Jeffrey Stollmeyer ever achieving higher. His tally of 12,982 runs was no small figure either.
First-Class career: 1971-1988
Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100s 50s
231 370 50 12982 200* 40.56 32 63

Gerry Gomez
Gerry Gomez is one of those rare cricketers who can do it all. Averaging 43.64, inclusive of 14 centuries and 29 half-centuries, Gomez was a fine First-Class batsman, but he was also a fine medium pacer, bagging 200 wickets over the course of his 126-match-long career. Those 200 wickets came at an average of 25.26. The batting allrounder has taken 10 wickets in an innings on two occasions to combine with the five times he has had five-fers.
First-Class career: 1937-1956
Batting
Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100s 50s
126 182 27 6764 216* 43.63 14 29
Bowling
Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10w
126 15178 5052 200 9/24 25.26 1.99 75.8 5 2

Charlie Davis
Charlie Davis can count himself unfortunate not to have had a significant West Indies career, the middle-order batsman doing his reputation no disservice in the 15 games he played at the top. As a West indies batsman he only played 15 Tests but scored four centuries and four half-centuries to end his career with an average of 54.20. His talent is clear, as at the First-Class level his 41.32 average is special as well, the batsman scoring 14 centuries and 28 fifties in his 90 games.
First-Class career: 1960-1976
Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100s 50s
90 152 18 5538 183 41.32 14 28

Denesh Ramdin (wicketkeeper) 1.59 dismissals per innings
Being the wicketkeeper of choice in a Trinidad and Tobago all-time best XI is no easy thing, with the likes of Deryck Murray in the list of those to choose from. However, with 15 centuries and 33 half-centuries to add to his 433 dismissals at the first-class level is hard to ignore. Murray had more but from nearly twice as many games with the two achieving a similar 1.5+ dismissals per match. The difference between the two is in their batting. Murray could bat, but scored just 10 centuries from his 362 games, compared to the 15 Ramdin has scored from just 161.
First-Class career: 2004-present
Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100s 50s Ct St
161 273 36 7115 166* 30.02 15 33 393 40
Learie Constantine
Learie Constantine is one of the first truly great allrounders to come out of the West Indies. Most decidedly, a bowling allrounder, Constantine took 438 first-class wickets at an average of 20.48 and at an even more incredible strike rate of 45.5. His 24.05 average with the bat could be higher but his five centuries and 28 fifties tell the story of a hard-hitting lower-order batsman who could win you a game from both sides of the game. He was also a remarkable fielder, who saved tonnes of runs and almost never dropped a catch.
First-Class career: 1955-1974
Batting
Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100s 50s
119 197 11 4475 133 24.05 5 28
Bowling
Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10w
119 17393 8991 439 8/38 20.48 3.10 39.6 25 4
Tony Gray
Tony Gray was tall, strong and really quick. His six-foot, six-inch frame generated alarming bounce and when his pace was added to that it made for nightmares. In just 122 First-Class matches Gray bagged 451 wickets at an average of 22.80. His strike rate of 45.5 makes him an elite bowler, probably worthy of more worldwide acclaim than he received.
First-Class career: 1983-1995
Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10w
122 20548 10283 451 8/40 22.80 3.00 45.5 19 4
Sonny Ramadhin
With buttoned sleeves, Sonny Ramadhin neatly pulled down 758 wickets, the most for a Trinidad and Tobago bowler, making him the most successful bowler, let alone spinner in the history of the twin-island republic’s history. If Ramadhin’s impact on the West Indies team was impressive, his impact on First-Class cricket was incredible. His best figures of 8-15 cannot find many matches, while his economy rate of 2.04 strangled many a team over the 16 years he twirled his offbreak.
First-Class career: 1949-1965
Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10w
184 44937 15345 758 8/15 20.24 2.04 59.2 51 15
Ian Bishop
Back injuries slowed Ian Bishop, who when he started, was incredibly quick, making spectators gasp at the thudding of the ball into the wicketkeeper’s gloves despite the man behind the stumps standing halfway toward the boundary. Even as his pace slowed, Bishop remained a real threat, swapping some of that pace for guile and know-how. He still ended up with 549 wickets at an average of 23.06 and a strike rate of 48.3.
First-Class career: 1986-1999
Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10w
159 26554 12665 549 7/34 23.06 2.86 48.3 23 1