13 Facts About Alf Valentine

Alfred Louis Valentine was a West Indian cricketer in the 1950s and 1960s.

Alf Valentine is most famous for his performance in the West Indies' 1950 tour of England, which was immortalised in the Victory Calypso.

Alf Valentine did not impress in the first few matches of the tour, and was not certain to be in the Test team, until he took 8 for 26 and 5 for 41 in the final warm-up match before the Tests.

Alf Valentine justified his selection for the Test side when in the first innings of the first Test, he took the first eight wickets, five of them before lunch on the first day.

Alf Valentine finished with 8 for 104 in the innings, and 11 for 204 in the match off 106 overs.

The West Indies' success continued as they won the third and fourth Tests to record a series victory, Alf Valentine taking five wickets in the third Test and ten wickets in the fourth Test.

Alf Valentine bowled 92 overs in the second innings of the third Test, then a Test record.

Alf Valentine bowled a massive 422.5 overs, conceding only 1.59 runs per over.

Alf Valentine took 123 wickets at an average of only 17.94, conceding only 1.86 runs per over.

Alf Valentine was still an effective containing bowler, conceding only 2.06 runs per over in those later years, but he didn't have the attacking effectiveness of his dramatic debut.

Alf Valentine had four daughters with his first wife, Gwendolyn, who died.

Alf Valentine moved to Florida with his second wife, Jacquelyn, where they fostered dozens of children whose parents were in prison.

Alf Valentine died in Orlando, Florida in 2004, aged 74.