Exactly how the pocket-sized Sarwan hit with so much power, especially square of the wicket, remains a mystery. Ever so nimble, he always seemed to merely caress the ball, and yet they seemed to race to the fence at breakneck pace.
Despite remaining in the giant shadows of Brian Lara, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, and Chris Gayle throughout his career, Sarwan carved out a niche for himself, with his exemplary breathtaking footwork, dazzling strokeplay, and trademark bandana.
He scored almost 6,000 runs in either format and averaged in excess of 40 in both. At one time the little Guyanese was looked upon as a long-term prospect and was even appointed vice-captain of West Indies. But he failed to live up to the expectations.
His first Test hundred took him 28 Tests, but the next 59 fetched him another 14. The crème la crème was the mammoth 291 against England at Kensington Oval in 2009, threatening to break Lara’s record of 400, adding 261 for the sixth wicket with Denesh Ramdin.
There were several other highlights of his career. After felled by a Dilhara Fernando bouncer in World Cup 2003 he came back to launch a furious onslaught. In 2006 he smashed Munaf Patel for six fours in an over. In 2009 he became the youngest West Indian to reach the 5,000-run milestone (and did not score even a thousand since then). In one of the strangest decisions by WICB, Sarwan lost his central contract that same season.
There were other oddities, too. The infamous on-field spat with Glenn McGrath, for example. Or the fact that when ICC tested the action of all contemporary bowlers, Sarwan was certified as the only one with a one hundred per cent correct action. Talking of bowling, he once demolished Bangladesh with 3 for 59 and 4 for 37 in the same Test with his leg-breaks.
Sarwan also had distinguished domestic careers with Guyana, Gloucestershire, and Leicestershire, and even played for Kings XI Punjab in the inaugural edition of IPL. He retired in September 2016, over three years after playing his last match for West Indies.
Abhishek Mukherjee
Career | M | In | R | NO | HS | Avg | BF | SR | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s | Ct | St |
Test | 87 | 154 | 5842 | 8 | 291 | 40.01 | 12484 | 46.79 | 15 | 31 | 747 | 14 | 53 | 0 |
ODIs | 181 | 169 | 5804 | 33 | 120* | 42.67 | 7665 | 75.72 | 5 | 38 | 482 | 58 | 45 | 0 |
T20s | 18 | 16 | 298 | 3 | 59* | 22.92 | 286 | 104.1 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 6 | 7 | 0 |
World Cup | 21 | 20 | 739 | 4 | 92 | 46.18 | 974 | 75.87 | 0 | 3 | 71 | 10 | 3 | 0 |
Career | M | B | R | W | Avg | EC | SR | 5WI | 10WM | BBI | BBM |
Test | 87 | 2022 | 1163 | 23 | 50.56 | 3.451 | 87. | 0 | 0 | 4/37 | 7/96 |
ODIs | 181 | 581 | 586 | 16 | 36.62 | 6.051 | 36.31 | 0 | 0 | 3/31 | 3/31 |
T20s | 18 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 5.000 | 5.000 | 6.000 | 0 | 0 | 2/1 | 2/1 |
World Cup | 21 | 78 | 73 | 2 | 36.50 | 5.615 | 39.00 | 0 | -- | 1/21 | 3/31 |
Test Debut
West Indies v Pakistan at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, May 18, 2000
Last Test
West Indies v India at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, June 28, 2011
ODI Debut
England v West Indies at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, July 20, 2000
Last ODI
India v West Indies at Kennington Oval, Kennington, June 11, 2013
T20 Debut
South Africa v West Indies at New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, September 11, 2007
Last T20
West Indies v South Africa at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, May 20, 2010
The Jamaican admitted that his description of former West Indies teammate Ramnaresh Sarwan as worse than the coronavirus was 'damaging'.
It continues to be the highest successful chase in Test cricket's history.
In a surreal tirade on his YouTube channel, Gayle called Sarwan 'worse than coronavirus' accusing him of wanting to take control of Tallwahs.
Sarwan said Gayle's outburst was unfortunate and that he is clarifying himself only to protect his image and those hampered by such claims.
Russell has raised questions over the professionalism and lack of communication in Tallawahs despite being appointed their captain in 2018.
Gayle said he hoped to end his career with the Talllawahs after signing a three-year contract ahead of the last season.
It continues to be the highest successful chase in Test cricket's history.
Ramnaresh Sarwan threatened to take West Indies over the line, but Vaas turned matters around.
Sarwan was one of the mainstays of the West Indian batting in the 2000s.
Chaminda Vaas vs Ramnaresh Sarwan: a tale of crafty reverse-swing versus rarely matched valour.
Although the result didn’t alter the outcome of the series, it produced moments that will forever be etched in the memories of players ...
The ugly spat that marred an otherwise amazing encounter in history of cricket.
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