Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board mourns Raphick Jumadeen's death

The regional cricket fraternity is mourning the passing of former Trinidad and Tobago and West Indies spin bowler Raphick Rasif Jumadeen.

The 75-year-old cricketer, whose career spanned from 1967 to 1981, died at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital on Monday.

A TT Cricket Board (TTCB) statement said on Wednesday, “The cause of death has not as yet been determined. It was a heavy double blow for the Jumadeen family having lost a four-year-old granddaughter several months ago.”

Jumadeen played 12 Tests for the West Indies between 1972 and 1979 and took 29 wickets with his right-arm orthodox spin at an average of 39.34, with one four-wicket haul.

At a difficult time for spin bowlers in the 1970s, and with the coming of age of the West Indies pace attack, Jumadeen still managed to play against all the major Test-playing countries at the time.

“His bowling was unique for its nagging, uncanny accuracy, tidiness and economy, exemplified by his bowling figures on debut against New Zealand at the Queen’s Park Oval when he had figures of 64-31-61-1.”

Jumadeen played his last Test against India in Kanpur in 1979, where he played all five Tests; toured England in 1976 when he took 58 wickets, but played only one Test, and took 11 wickets against Australia in the Caribbean.

Together with left-arm wrist-spinning partner Inshan Ali, Jumadeen was immortalised as one-half of TT’s feared “spin twins” who tormented leading batsmen in regional competition.

On Wednesday, TTCB president Azim Bassarath expressed sadness on Jumadeen’s death, having spoken with him only two weeks ago.

“He was at the National Cricket Centre having a look at the West Indies Women’s Under-19 tournament and ‘Jumas’ looked fine and we had a nice chat. He was here with his wife and came to enquire about his tickets for the India Test match.

“He was very jolly but you could see he was a bit subdued because he indicated to me that about four months ago, he lost a granddaughter, four and a half years old, and you could have seen that he was grieving to the extent that his wife told me that he was not himself since the passing of that grandchild.”

The CWI vice-president said that Jumadeen will be remembered as a great TT spin bowler who was unassuming and low-keyed, but the way he played the game reflected a cricketer who took his craft seriously, and always gave of his best.

“He wore the national and West Indies colours with pride and carried himself with humility and dignity, always available to contribute to helping young cricketers develop their game,” said Bassarath.

Jumadeen was appointed to the West Indies senior cricket selection panel in 2008 under Clyde Butts and also served for many years as a TTCB Red Force selector.

Apart from his dedication to the game, Jumadeen was also well known for his activism in the community of Harmony Hall, Gasparillo where he lived, and even ventured into electoral politics at one stage.

Bassarath said Jumadeen’s passing has created a deep void in TT cricket which will be hard to fill, and the TTCB will honour his contribution appropriately.

The TTCB also extended its sincerest condolences to his family on their loss.