Andy Ganteaume,the West Indian, Who Averaged Greater Than Don Bradman in Test Cricket, Dies At Age 95

The first statistical trivia for a cricket fan would be: Who has the highest average in Test cricket? The answer would be Australia's Sir Donald George Bradman with 99.94. However, if one looks at it from a numeric point of view, that is actually not the correct answer

Andy Ganteaume, the wicketkeeper-batsman who played for the West Indies in 1948, had an average of 112. The twist in the tail: He played only one Test.

Ganteaume's one and only Test was against England in Port-of-Spain, where he made 112 in the first innings while opening the batting. He did not get to bat in the next innings and surprisingly that turned out to be his last Test.

The reasons for his axing, at that time, were a couple. According to one report, Ganteaume was criticised for scoring slowly in the Trinidad Test while other reports suggested that he was perceived as an anti-establishment figure who would not bow down to the white players who dominated the running of West Indies cricket in the late 40s and 50s.

Some others stated that Ganteaume came at a time when the West Indies had a very strong batting unit. Afterall, he was part of a side that included Everton Weekes, Frank Worrell and in later years, Sir Garfield Sobers.

The West Indies Cricket Board, in a statement said, "We salute Andy Ganteaume, one of the patriots of our great game. His most memorable performance on the field is his 112 - and that will forever be a famous performance in our history. Andy has also contributed a lot off the field as well, especially with the development of our cricket. He has contributed immensely to the game in the Caribbean as a wonderful player and administrator."

Although Ganteaume played only one Test, he had a good run in First-Class Cricket, playing 50 matches and scoring 2785 runs at an average of 34.81.