St John’s, Antigua – December 9th marked the 50th anniversary of the start of the iconic Tied Test between the West Indies and Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane.
WICB President Dr Julian Hunte paid tribute on the golden anniversary of the historic game.
"December 9th 1960 is a most glorious and auspicious day in the history of cricket and the history of West Indies cricket. Today, December 9th 2010 we celebrate 50 years since the start of what was, by all accounts, a most phenomenal cricket match," said Dr Hunte.
"The Tied Test is recorded in the annals of cricketing history as not only a magnificent cricket match but a match which enlivened the game and invigorated broad global interest at a time when sports did not benefit from the enormous publicity it now receives across so many media platforms," Dr Hunte commented.
"To this day the Tied Test is often the subject of wonderful cricketing discussions and nostalgic recollections," the WICB President noted.
"I pay tribute to Rev Wes Hall who bowled that controlled and superlative final over and Joe Solomon who effected the heart stopping final ball run out and all the other members of the team who were part of such a remarkable and iconic cricket game," Dr Hunte said.
The members of the West Indies team were: Sir Frank Worrell (Captain), Sir Conrad Hunte, Cammie Smith, Rohan Kanhai, Sir Garfield Sobers, Joe Solomon, Peter Lashley, Gerry Alexander (wicketkeeper), Sonny Ramadhin, Rev Wes Hall and Alf Valentine.
Legendary West Indian spinner and former world record holder for the most wickets Lance Gibbs was the 12th man.
Smith and Lashley were both on their Test debuts.
The Australian team was: Richie Benaud (Captain), Colin McDonald, Bob Simpson, Neil Harvey, Norm O’Neill, Les Favell, Ken McKay, Alan Davidson, Wally Grout (wicketkeeper), Ian Meckiff and Lindsay Kline.
Johnny Martin was the Australian 12th man.