26 Facts About Clifford Roach

Clifford Archibald Roach was a Trinidadian cricketer who played in West Indies' first Test match in 1928.

Clifford Roach was generally inconsistent, but batted in an attacking and attractive style.

Clifford Roach was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, and attended St Mary's College, for whom he played football.

Clifford Roach played his early cricket on matting pitches in Trinidad, and represented Maple, a cricket club for middle-class players.

Clifford Roach was coached by George John from an early age.

Clifford Roach made his first-class debut for Trinidad in February 1924, when he scored 44 and 22 against British Guiana.

Clifford Roach did not play for Trinidad again until 1926, when he faced the touring Marylebone Cricket Club in two games without much success.

The latter match was played to assist in selecting a team for the forthcoming West Indian tour of England; Clifford Roach played a further two such games without success in early 1928.

Clifford Roach finished fifth in the first-class batting averages for the team, and took two wickets.

Clifford Roach was fourth in the West Indian Test batting averages, but only one other player, Joe Small, reached fifty in the series, and he only did so once.

Clifford Roach played in the first Test and, opening the batting, scored 122 in the first innings, the first Test century for West Indies and Clifford Roach's maiden century in first-class cricket.

Clifford Roach hit the English bowler Wilfred Rhodes for successive fours to reach three figures.

Clifford Roach shared partnerships of 144 for the first wicket with Errol Hunte, and 192 with George Headley for the second wicket.

Clifford Roach did little during the final Test, but finished the series with 467 runs at 58.37, placing him third in the team batting averages.

Clifford Roach was expected to be one of the leading batsman, along with Headley, on the tour, and he scored 56 in the first Test, but only reached double figures twice in his next seven Test innings until he scored 31 and 34 in the final game.

Clifford Roach finished fifth in the team's Test batting averages with 194 runs at 19.40.

Clifford Roach was more successful in the other two Tests, scoring 64 in the second Test and 56 in the third, reaching fifty in 33 minutes during the latter innings.

In total, Clifford Roach scored 1,286 runs at 25.72 in first-class matches to finish ninth in the team averages, and 141 runs at 23.50 in Tests.

Clifford Roach played twice for the team in 1936, scoring a fifty in the second game.

In later life, Clifford Roach suffered with diabetes; as a result, he had both legs amputated, the first in 1968 and the second in 1970.

Clifford Roach had artificial legs fitted in England, but continued to work as a solicitor throughout.

Clifford Roach played for the Maple team, for whom he played at inside right until the late 1930s, but represented Trinidad at international level.

Clifford Roach died in Port of Spain in 1988, aged 84.

Clifford Roach suggests that he provided a bridge in West Indian batting between George Challenor, the first notably successful batsman to represent the West Indies, and George Headley, the leading West Indian batsman before the Second World War.

Whether successful or not, Clifford Roach concentrated on entertaining spectators through aggressive batting.

Clifford Roach was a very effective fielder, especially in the covers.