Joe Solomon: The Cricketer Who Tied A Test

Joe Solomon, who has died aged 93, was never in the top echelon of West Indian batsmen but he guaranteed his place in the game's folklore in perpetuity through one split-second moment of brillianc

Joe Solomon (Image Source: Google)

- 'Mangoes' -

His fielding though was a different story as he was to set the bar for future generations. He put it down to childhood habits.

"There used to be a mango tree near where we used to live, just hanging over the fence, more or less," he told Cricinfo in 2017.

"The mangoes used to be hanging over, so I just pelted them. We all used to pelt down the mangoes."

That experience, and the coolness of his head under pressure, was to decide that first Test in Brisbane.

Solomon, who had contributed 65 and 47 with the bat, was positioned at square-leg as fast bowler Wes Hall bowled the penultimate ball of the match to Australia's last man Lindsay Kline with the scores level.

The left-hander stabbed the ball out on the leg side and ran. Ian Meckiff charged down towards the wicketkeeper's end to try to secure the single that would give Australia victory.

"Joe Solomon had one stump to have a go at," said Hall some years later.

Meckiff did not make it as Solomon hit the 'mango' with the fast bowler lunging for the crease.

"Ninety percent of those miss but he hit the bull's eye. That was the spectacular thing about it," said Hall.

For the first time in the 84 years of international cricket, a Test match had ended in a tie.