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Lawrence Rowe

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Lawrence Rowe
Personal information
Full name
Lawrence George Rowe
Born (1949-01-08) 8 January 1949 (age 75)
Kingston, Colony of Jamaica
NicknameYagga
BattingRight-handed
BowlingLeft-arm fast-medium
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 141)16 February 1972 v New Zealand
Last Test29 February 1980 v New Zealand
ODI debut (cap 17)20 December 1975 v Australia
Last ODI6 February 1980 v New Zealand
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1968–1982Jamaica
1974Derbyshire
Career statistics
Competition Tests ODIs FC LA
Matches 30 11 149 52
Runs scored 2,047 136 8,755 1,400
Batting average 43.55 17.00 37.57 30.43
100s/50s 7/7 0/1 18/38 0/10
Top score 302 60 302 87
Balls bowled 86 0 430 34
Wickets 0 – 2 2
Bowling average – – 112.00 15.00
5 wickets in innings 0 – 0 0
10 wickets in match 0 – 0 0
Best bowling 0/1 – 1/19 1/0
Catches/stumpings 17/– 2/– 118/– 18/–
Source: Cricket Archive, 17 October 2010

Lawrence George Rowe (born 8 January 1949) is a former West Indian cricketer. A stylish top order batsman, he also played for Jamaica and Derbyshire in his cricketing career. Rowe was later named as one of Jamaica's top five cricketers of the 20th century.[1][2]

Playing career

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Rowe made his debut for Jamaica in the 1968–69 cricketing season. He then made history on his Test match debut against New Zealand at Sabina Park, Kingston in 1972, scoring 214 and 100 not out, the first time that a cricketer had scored a double and single century on Test debut.[3] It also gave him a batting average of 314 after his first Test match.

During 1974 Rowe scored 302 versus England at Barbados' Kensington Oval. This was and still remains the highest score by a West Indian at Kensington Oval.[4] He also became one of only four West Indians to have scored a triple century, with the others being Garfield Sobers, Chris Gayle and Brian Lara.[5]

On his arrival in Australia for the 1975–76 tour Rowe was being hailed as the best batsman in the world.[citation needed] A century in his second Test innings in Australia maintained his average at over 70 runs per innings and it seemed to confirm his reputation. The team was humiliated by the Australian side over the rest of the series and Rowe never regained his previously devastating form.

Rowe was a West Indies batting "hero" in the days before Viv Richards. He was known to whistle while he batted though he seemed to be a bit injury prone. During 1974 he started to suffer from astigmatism along with an allergy to grass. As well he dislocated his shoulder while playing against England in 1980.[6][7][1]

Playing between 1972 and 1980, Rowe scored a total of 2,047 runs at an average of 43 in his test match career. He also featured for the Windies in 11 One Day Internationals. Rowe played for Derbyshire in the English County Championship and also joined World Series Cricket, where he scored 175 in one match for the WSC West Indies XI.[8]

Rowe later captained two rebel tours to South Africa. This came during apartheid when the country was isolated from world sport.[9] The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) thereafter banned the side's players for life, though this ban was eventually lifted in 1989. The Windies rebels twice toured South Africa in both the 1982–83 and 1983–84 seasons. While they lost the 50 over and drew the first class contests in their first tour, the Windies rebels went on to win both series in their subsequent tour. Soon after such Rowe migrated and permanently settled in Miami, US where he eventually became a successful businessman.[7]

During the lunch break of the first Test between West Indies and India on 20 June 2011, Rowe was honoured when the Sabina Park pavilion was named after him, in a ceremony that also honoured Michael Holding and Courtney Walsh. He took the opportunity to apologise on behalf of the rebel West Indian team, saying:[10]

"...Today I sincerely apologise to the cricketing fraternity of Jamaica, the Caribbean and the rest of the world."

However, after much protest Lyndel Wright, the Jamaica Cricket Association president, stated their decision was revoked, after Rowe stated publicly that he saw nothing wrong with his decision to tour apartheid South Africa.[11][12]

Playing style

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Lawrence Rowe's career performance graph.

As an elegant right-handed batsman Rowe, also known as "Yagga", was described by Michael Holding, his teammate, as "the best batsman I ever saw". It was felt that his ability was so extraordinary that Gary Sobers believed he could have been the greatest of all West Indian batsmen. At one game Rowe hit a ball so cleanly that it followed a level trajectory like a guided missile over the boundary for six. Gideon Haigh describes the incident:

Early in his innings against England at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados, in March 1974, he received a bouncer from Bob Willis. He smashed it flat into the stand at square leg; it travelled most of the way at head height. His 302 took only 430 hectic deliveries, with 36 further boundaries.[13]

Personal life

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Rowe is the founder of the Lawrence Rowe Foundation, which aims to assist at-risk kids.[14]

References

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  1. ^ a b Premachandran, Dileep (7 February 2008). "'There was no shot I couldn't play'". cricinfo.com. Cricinfo.
  2. ^ "Walsh and Holding named among Jamaica's best". cricinfo.com. Cricinfo. 13 May 2004.
  3. ^ "Sri Lanka pinch a classic". ESPNcricinfo. 16 February 2007. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  4. ^ "Lawrence Rowe's memorable 302 vs England is the highest score by a West Indian at Kensington Oval". twitter.com. Cricket West Indies. 26 June 2014.
  5. ^ Fanfair, Ron (8 March 2018). "Sobers entered rare air with triple century 60 years ago". ronfanfair.com. Ron Fanfair.
  6. ^ "Out on a high". 9 March 2007. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  7. ^ a b Paresh, Soni (20 March 2007). "The forgotten batting genius". bbc.co.uk. BBC.
  8. ^ "The Home of CricketArchive". Cricketarchive.com. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  9. ^ "The unforgiven". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  10. ^ "Rowe apologises for rebel tour as Jamaica honours him". Archived from the original on 24 June 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  11. ^ "Jamaica board revokes Rowe honour". ESPNcricinfo. 8 October 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  12. ^ Daily Gleaner, "Lawrence Rowe – beyond the boundary", 3 July 2011 http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20110703/focus/focus3.html Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  13. ^ "When talent proves a Rowe too hard to hoe". The Age. 6 March 2004. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  14. ^ Martin, Edwin (10 March 2016). "Cricket legends thrill fans during eventful weekend in Fort Lauderdale". Miami Herald. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
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