West Indian cricket team in England in 1923

The West Indian cricket team toured England in the 1923 season
1923 English cricket season
-Honours:*County Championship - Yorkshire*Minor Counties Championship - Buckinghamshire*Wisden - Arthur Gilligan, Roy Kilner, George Macaulay, Cecil Parkin, Maurice Tate-External sources:*...

. The team played 28 matches between 19 May and 5 September 1923 of which 20 were regarded as first-class. This was the 3rd West Indian tour following those of 1900

West Indian cricket team in England in 1900

The West Indian cricket team toured England in the 1900 season. The team played 17 matches between 11 June and 11 August 1900.There had been three tours by teams of English Amateurs to the West Indies in the mid 1890s and the idea of sending a combined West Indies team to England had gradually...

and 1906

West Indian cricket team in England in 1906

The West Indian cricket team toured England in the 1906 season. The team played 19 matches between 11 June and 18 August 1906 of which 13 were regarded as first-class....

.

The early weather was disappointing and little useful practice was possible before the tour started. 3 of the first 5 matches were lost but the remainder of the tour was much more successful and only 4 of the remaining 23 matches were lost.
Because of the early poor results and the lack of representative matches public interest was rather limited.

George Challenor

George Challenor

George Challenor was a West Indian cricketer who was part of the first West Indies Test side. He was recognised as the first great West Indian batsman, his obituary in Wisden Cricketer's Almanack ending with the words "His admirable batting did much toward raising cricket in West Indies to Test...

was by far the best batsman scoring twice as many runs as any other player at an average of over 50. He scored 6 of the 8 first class centuries scored by the team and 2 of the 3 in minor matches.
George Francis

George Francis (cricketer)

George Francis was a West Indian cricketer who played in West Indies' first Test in their inaugural Test tour of England. He was a fast bowler with a renowned pace.Francis was born in Trents, St. James, Barbados...

lead the bowling with 82 first class wickets at an average of just over 15. George John

George John

George John was a West Indian fast bowler.George John was a very fast bowler in his prime and could cut the ball into the batsmen. He toured England with West Indies side in 1923 but by then was past his best. He claimed 90 wickets at 14.68 in all matches, 49 of them at 19.51 in first class matches...

, Cyril Browne

Cyril Browne

Cyril Rutherford "Snuffy" Browne was a West Indian Test cricketer who was a member of the first West Indies Test cricket team, playing against England in 1928...

and Victor Pascall

Victor Pascall

Victor S Pascall was a Trinidadian cricketer who represented the West Indies in the days before they achieved Test status. His primary role was as a left-arm spinner, but was regarded as a reasonable batsman. Pascall was related to the Constantine family; he was the maternal uncle of Elias and...

also made useful contributions with the ball.
The fielding was generally regarded as of high standard with Learie Constantine

Learie Constantine

Learie Nicholas Constantine, Baron Constantine MBE was a West Indian cricketer who played 18 Test matches before the Second World War. He took West Indies' first wicket in Test cricket and was the team's leading all-rounder and opening bowler for the entirety of his career...

's cover point fielding being particularly commented on.

Touring team

Harold Austin

Sir Harold Bruce Gardiner Austin OBE was a West Indian politician and cricketer. He was known as H.B.G.....

seems to have taken a large part inorganising the tour and after the 1922-23 Inter-Colonial Tournament

Inter-Colonial Tournament

The Inter-Colonial Tournament was the main first class cricket competition in the West Indies before World War II.- Competing teams :* Barbados* British Guiana* Trinidad...

in September 1922. He seems to have selected the Barbados, British Guiana and Trinidad tourists. Little was known of the Jamaica players and they were allocated just 3 places.

The 16 players that made up the team consisted of:

Name
H.B.G. Austin Harold Austin Sir Harold Bruce Gardiner Austin OBE was a West Indian politician and cricketer. He was known as H.B.G..... (c Captain (cricket) The captain of a cricket team often referred to as the skipper is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of a regular player... )	Barbados Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
C.R. Browne Cyril Browne Cyril Rutherford "Snuffy" Browne was a West Indian Test cricketer who was a member of the first West Indies Test cricket team, playing against England in 1928...	British Guiana British Guiana British Guiana was the name of the British colony on the northern coast of South America, now the independent nation of Guyana.The area was originally settled by the Dutch at the start of the 17th century as the colonies of Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice...
G. Challenor George Challenor George Challenor was a West Indian cricketer who was part of the first West Indies Test side. He was recognised as the first great West Indian batsman, his obituary in Wisden Cricketer's Almanack ending with the words "His admirable batting did much toward raising cricket in West Indies to Test...	Barbados Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
L.N. Constantine Learie Constantine Learie Nicholas Constantine, Baron Constantine MBE was a West Indian cricketer who played 18 Test matches before the Second World War. He took West Indies' first wicket in Test cricket and was the team's leading all-rounder and opening bowler for the entirety of his career...	Trinidad Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
G.A.R. Dewhurst George Dewhurst George Dewhurst was a British actor, screenwriter and film director. He directed several film versions of the play A Sister to Assist 'Er.-Selected filmography:Screenwriter* The Lunatic at Large * The Narrow Valley...	Trinidad Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
M.P. Fernandes Maurice Fernandes Maurius Pacheco "Maurice" Fernandes, was a West Indian Test cricketer who played first-class cricket for British Guiana between 1922 and 1932. He made two Test appearances for the West Indies, in 1928 and 1930. Fernandes played as a right-handed top-order batsman and occasional wicket-keeper...	British Guiana British Guiana British Guiana was the name of the British colony on the northern coast of South America, now the independent nation of Guyana.The area was originally settled by the Dutch at the start of the 17th century as the colonies of Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice...
G.N. Francis George Francis (cricketer) George Francis was a West Indian cricketer who played in West Indies' first Test in their inaugural Test tour of England. He was a fast bowler with a renowned pace.Francis was born in Trents, St. James, Barbados...	Barbados Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
J.K. Holt	Jamaica Jamaica Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
C.V. Hunter	British Guiana British Guiana British Guiana was the name of the British colony on the northern coast of South America, now the independent nation of Guyana.The area was originally settled by the Dutch at the start of the 17th century as the colonies of Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice...
H.W. Ince	Barbados Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
G. John George John George John was a West Indian fast bowler.George John was a very fast bowler in his prime and could cut the ball into the batsmen. He toured England with West Indies side in 1923 but by then was past his best. He claimed 90 wickets at 14.68 in all matches, 49 of them at 19.51 in first class matches...	Trinidad Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
R.K. Nunes Karl Nunes Robert Karl Nunes was a West Indian cricketer who played in West Indies' first Test in their inaugural Test tour of England as wicketkeeper and captain.... (vc)	Jamaica Jamaica Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
V.S. Pascall Victor Pascall Victor S Pascall was a Trinidadian cricketer who represented the West Indies in the days before they achieved Test status. His primary role was as a left-arm spinner, but was regarded as a reasonable batsman. Pascall was related to the Constantine family; he was the maternal uncle of Elias and...	Trinidad Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
R.L. Phillips	Jamaica Jamaica Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
J.A. Small Joseph Small Joseph A. Small was a West Indian cricketer who played in West Indies' first Test in their inaugural Test tour of England....	Trinidad Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
P.H. Tarilton Percy Tarilton Percy Hamilton "Tim" Tarilton was a Barbadian cricketer who represented the West Indies in the days before they achieved Test status. A good driver of the ball, he made his first-class debut for Barbados in 1905 and played until 1930. He hit his maiden first-class century against Marylebone...	Barbados Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...

Despite being 17 years since the last tour, two of the tourists, Austin and Challenor, had been part of the 1906 team. Learie Constantine was the son of Lebrun Constantine

Lebrun Constantine

Lebrun Samuel Constantine was a coloured West Indian cricketer who toured England in 1900 and 1906 and was a regular member of the Trinidad team from 1893-94 to 1922-23. He was primarily a batsman. He often kept wicket but was also a useful occasional bowler...

who had toured in 1900 and 1906. Victor Pascall was the uncle of Learie Constantine.

R.H. Mallett

Harry Mallett

Richard Henry Mallett was a cricket player and administrator....

was the manager. Austin was chosen as captain and Nunes as vice-captain.

The Professionals Francis and John were black as were Browne, Constantine, Holt, Pascall and Small amongst the Amateurs.

Preliminaries

Except for the Jamaica representative the team sailed on the steam ship "Intaba" which left British Guiana on 9 April and, sailing via Trinidad and Barbaodos, reached Southampton on 30 April. The Jamaican players had arrived two days earlier.

The players practised at Lord's and practice matches were arranged including a match against the Indian Gymkhana but the weather was very cold.

Status

Of the 28 matches 8 were not regarded as first-class. These were the matches against Durham, Northumberland, Cheshire, Wiltshire, Lord Harris's XI, Dublin University, Northern Cricket Union, and Norfolk. These are shown in italics below.

Match 1 v Cambridge University

Match 2 v Sussex

Match 3 v M.C.C.

Match 4 v Hampshire

Match 5 v Middlesex

Match 6 v Oxford University

Match 7 v Essex

Match 8 v Durham

Match 9 v Northumberland

Match 10 v Derbyshire

Match 11 v Northamptonshire

Match 12 v Lancashire

Match 13 v Cheshire

Match 14 v Nottinghamshire

Match 15 v Leicestershire

Match 16 v Wiltshire

Match 17 v Warwickshire

Match 18 v Lord Harris' XI

Match 19 v Dublin University

Match 20 v Northern Cricket Union

Match 21 v Gloucestershire

Match 22 v Surrey

Match 23 v Glamorgan

Match 24 v Somerset

Match 25 v Kent

Match 26 v Norfolk

Match 27 v Worcestershire

Match 28 v H.D.G Leveson-Gower's XI

Summary

Of the 20 first-class matches played, 6 matches were won, 7 were lost and 7 were drawn. In all matches 13 were won, 7 were lost and 8 were drawn.

Post Tour

Except for Jamaican players the team returned on board the steam ship "Ingoma" departing Southampton on 9 September and arriving in Barbados on the 21st.

Batting

Player	P	I	NO	R	HS	Ave	100	50	C/S
G Challenor George Challenor George Challenor was a West Indian cricketer who was part of the first West Indies Test side. He was recognised as the first great West Indian batsman, his obituary in Wisden Cricketer's Almanack ending with the words "His admirable batting did much toward raising cricket in West Indies to Test...	20	35	5	1556	155*	51.86	6	8	4
MP Fernandes Maurice Fernandes Maurius Pacheco "Maurice" Fernandes, was a West Indian Test cricketer who played first-class cricket for British Guiana between 1922 and 1932. He made two Test appearances for the West Indies, in 1928 and 1930. Fernandes played as a right-handed top-order batsman and occasional wicket-keeper...	11	19	4	523	110	34.86	1	2	6
JA Small Joseph Small Joseph A. Small was a West Indian cricketer who played in West Indies' first Test in their inaugural Test tour of England....	18	27	2	776	94	31.04	-	7	20
HBG Austin Harold Austin Sir Harold Bruce Gardiner Austin OBE was a West Indian politician and cricketer. He was known as H.B.G.....	11	16	2	360	76	25.71	-	2	4
PH Tarilton Percy Tarilton Percy Hamilton "Tim" Tarilton was a Barbadian cricketer who represented the West Indies in the days before they achieved Test status. A good driver of the ball, he made his first-class debut for Barbados in 1905 and played until 1930. He hit his maiden first-class century against Marylebone...	17	28	2	554	109*	21.30	1	3	2
RK Nunes Karl Nunes Robert Karl Nunes was a West Indian cricketer who played in West Indies' first Test in their inaugural Test tour of England as wicketkeeper and captain....	15	24	1	455	89	19.78	-	3	-
HW Ince	16	26	3	381	46*	16.56	-	-	3
LN Constantine Learie Constantine Learie Nicholas Constantine, Baron Constantine MBE was a West Indian cricketer who played 18 Test matches before the Second World War. He took West Indies' first wicket in Test cricket and was the team's leading all-rounder and opening bowler for the entirety of his career...	20	31	4	425	77	15.74	-	2	15
JK Holt	12	19	0	293	56	15.42	-	2	6
G John George John George John was a West Indian fast bowler.George John was a very fast bowler in his prime and could cut the ball into the batsmen. He toured England with West Indies side in 1923 but by then was past his best. He claimed 90 wickets at 14.68 in all matches, 49 of them at 19.51 in first class matches...	10	13	4	108	44*	12.00	-	-	5
GN Francis George Francis (cricketer) George Francis was a West Indian cricketer who played in West Indies' first Test in their inaugural Test tour of England. He was a fast bowler with a renowned pace.Francis was born in Trents, St. James, Barbados...	15	22	4	207	41	11.50	-	-	15
CR Browne Cyril Browne Cyril Rutherford "Snuffy" Browne was a West Indian Test cricketer who was a member of the first West Indies Test cricket team, playing against England in 1928...	18	26	2	258	24*	10.75	-	-	14
VS Pascall Victor Pascall Victor S Pascall was a Trinidadian cricketer who represented the West Indies in the days before they achieved Test status. His primary role was as a left-arm spinner, but was regarded as a reasonable batsman. Pascall was related to the Constantine family; he was the maternal uncle of Elias and...	19	28	7	222	40	10.57	-	-	11
GAR Dewhurst George Dewhurst George Dewhurst was a British actor, screenwriter and film director. He directed several film versions of the play A Sister to Assist 'Er.-Selected filmography:Screenwriter* The Lunatic at Large * The Narrow Valley...	15	23	5	182	52	10.11	-	1	20/5
CV Hunter	2	2	0	10	9	5.00	-	-	-
RL Phillips	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

In all 28 matches G Challenor