Larry Gomes: 10 interesting things about the West Indian batsman

Larry Gomes, born July 13, 1953, is a former West Indian batsman renowned for being a solid but sedate figure among the more reputed hitters of the 1970s and 1980s.

Larry Gomes, born July 13, 1953, is a former West Indian batsman renowned for being a solid but sedate figure among the more reputed hitters of the 1970s and 1980s. On his 62nd birthday, Shiamak Unwalla looks at 10 interesting facts about the man they called “Mr Dependable.”

1.  Who is Larry?

Though he is famously known as Larry, his full name is Hilary Angelo Gomes.

 

2.  Sporting family

The Gomes household was a cricket-loving one. Larry’s father was a club cricketer of some ability who encouraged each of his six sons to take up all sports, and cricket in particular.

 

3.  Overshadowed by his brother

Larry’s older brother Sheldon was reportedly the better player in their youth. Apart from being an excellent footballer, Sheldon was an aggressive batsman who scored five First-Class centuries. However, Sheldon could not find the consistency that Larry had in spades.

 

4.  The Packer years

Having made his Test debut in 1976, Gomes had to wait till 1978 to play his third match. That he made a comeback was largely due to a number of West Indies’ stars going over to play Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket. Gomes became a mainstay of the weakened Caribbean side, but was good enough to keep his spot even after the stars returned.

 

5.  Inauspicious debut

Gomes was out for a two-ball duck batting at No. 7 on Test debut against England at Trent Bridge in an innings where Viv Richards scored 232 and West Indies piled on 494. He did not get to bat again in the match, so he ended his maiden Test appearance without a run. Worse, he was out for a duck in the second innings of his next match as well.

 

6.  Useful with the ball

Perhaps had he played for any other side Gomes would have bowled a lot more and consequently ended with far more international wickets. As it happened, Gomes played for the team with the greatest bowling attack of the era and as such was called upon sparingly. Gomes bowled both off-spin and medium-pace, and his numbers especially in ODIs are impressive to say the least. In the 36 ODI innings in which he bowled, Gomes took 41 wickets at 25.48 with two four-wicket hauls. His Test numbers are less impressive, but that was because he mainly bowled the filler overs.

 

7.  Calm amid the storm

Gomes’ style was a huge departure from the rest of the West Indies batting of his era. He was far from the belligerent batsmen like Viv Richards, Gordon Greenidge, and Clive Lloyd. Instead, Gomes was an accumulator who thrived on playing within himself. As a result, he was called “Mr Dependable” by his teammates.

 

8.  Australia basher

Most cricketers reserve their best for a particular team. Gomes was no different. His overall Test record looks good without ever being formidable. Against Australia — probably the best team after of his era after West Indies — Gomes was not only formidable but outstanding. In 13 Tests against Australia, Gomes scored 1,122 runs at 56.10. He scored six of his nine Test centuries against them. His average in Australia was a gargantuan 70.33 in eight Tests. He scored four of his hundreds in Australia, more than he even managed at home.

 

9.  Honoured by Wisden

Gomes was named one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1985.

 

10.  The Rebel tour

Perhaps one of the hardest decisions Gomes had to take in his career was whether or not to go on the rebel tour to South Africa. Gomes finally decided against it, and was rewarded with a coaching contract with Trinidad and Tobago as well as £50,000 raised in a benefit year.

(Shiamak Unwalla is a proud Whovian and all-round geek who also dabbles in cricket writing as a reporter with CricketCountry. His Twitter handle is @ShiamakUnwalla)

 

Related Story: Larry Gomes: Life and times

More from this writer:

Munaf Patel: 10 interesting things to know about the Indian pacer

Shaun Marsh: 10 interesting facts about the Australian batsman

MS Dhoni’s 10 stunning stats that boggle the mind

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