Raphick Jumadeen was a slow left-arm orthodox spinner who represented Trinidad and Tobago in 39 regional first-class matches and the West Indies in 12 Test matches. He made his national debut against Guyana at Bourda, Guyana, at the age of 22 years. In a drawn match, he toiled for 26 overs taking one wicket for 104 runs. His regional career spanned 11 seasons from 1971 to 1981 and was marked by controlled consistency and economy.
In his third regional match in 1972, he took his first five-wicket haul against Guyana at the Queen's Park Oval in St Clair, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. He had match figures of seven wickets for 120 runs, five wickets for 33 runs in the first innings, and two wickets for 97 runs in the second innings. He ended the 1972 season with 14 wickets for 288 runs, with a best of six wickets for 31 runs in the second innings of the match against Jamaica at the Queen's Park Oval.
In 1973, he took 15 wickets in four matches. His best match return was in the third match of the season against Barbados at the Queen's Park Oval, with figures of nine wickets for 131 runs, leading Trinidad and Tobago to eight wickets. In the first innings, he took six wickets for 60 runs, including the wickets of Gordon Greenidge for 49 runs, Garry Sobers for 23 runs, and captain David Holford for 11 runs. Among his three wickets in the second innings was top scorer Pater Lashley for 89 runs.
He had an ordinary return of nine wickets each in the 1974 and 1975 seasons. His best bowling figures during these two seasons were five wickets for 118 runs in the first innings against Guyana at the Bourda Oval. Despite his efforts, Guyana won the match by 10 wickets. In the 1976 season, Jumadeen picked up 13 wickets. His match figures of six wickets for 78 runs against Guyana at the Queen's Park Oval, helped Trinidad and Tobago register a 113-run victory.
Jumadeen's best regional season was in 1977 when he grabbed 24 wickets for 389 runs. After taking 14 wickets in the first three rounds of matches, Jumadeen led Trinidad and Tobago to victory by nine wickets against Guyana at Bourda with match figures of 10 wickets for 123 runs in the final game of the season.
In the first innings, he took four wickets for 48 runs as Guyana was dismissed for 177 runs. His wickets included that of Andrew Lyght for 44 runs and Siew Shivnarine without scoring. Trinidad and Tobago established a healthy first innings lead of 155 runs on the bat of Larry Gomes, 100 runs, and Theo Cuffy, 82 runs. In Guyana's second innings, Jumadeen snared six wickets for 75 runs.
In the next four seasons (1977-81), Jumadeen picked up 45 wickets at an average of 37.6 runs per wicket. His best bowling was five wickets for 57 runs in the first innings against Guyana at Albion Park, Guyana, in 1980. He also recorded his highest regional score in 1979, scoring 40 against Guyana at the Queen's Park Oval.
Jumadeen's Test career lasted from 1972 to 1979. He played 12 Test matches in seven of 12 series during this period. In his debut Test against New Zealand at the Queen's Park Oval in 1972, Jumadeen had match figures of 64 overs, 31 maidens, 64 runs, and one wicket. Other than the home series against India in 1976, where he played all four Test matches, he never played more than two matches in a series.
In three matches against Australia in the Caribbean (one in 1973 and two in 1978), he took 13 wickets at an average of 30.76 per wicket. His best bowling figures were in the fifth Test match at Sabina Park, Jamaica, where he took four wickets for 72 runs in the first innings and two wickets for 90 runs in the second innings, including the wickets of Graeme Wood for 90 runs and Peter Toohey for 97 runs.
In the fourth Test, he had match figures of five wickets for 117 runs, helping the West Indies defeat Australia by 198 runs at the Queen's Park Oval. In the first innings, he grabbed the wickets of Graeme Yallop for 75 runs and Craig Serjeant for 49 runs. In the second innings, he picked up the wickets of Peter Toohey for 17 runs, Serjeant for four runs, and captain Bobby Simpson for six runs.
In six matches against India (4 in 1976 and 2 in 1979), he took 13 wickets at an average of 40.5 runs per wicket. His best bowling figures were three wickets for 57 runs in the second innings of the first Test at Kensington Oval, Barbados in 1976. His highest Test score was in his last Test match in Kanpur, India in 1979, when batting as a night watchman at number four, he made 56 runs without scoring a boundary.
In 12 Test matches, Jumadeen took 29 wickets at an average of 39.34 runs per wicket and a strike rate of 108.2 balls per wicket. His last regional game for Trinidad and Tobago was in 1981 against Guyana. He played 39 regional matches and took 130 wickets at an average of 30.30 runs per wicket. He took five wickets or more in an innings on seven occasions and 10 or more in a match on one occasion.
Like Inshan Ali and Imtiaz Ali, Jumadeen's career as a spinner on the West Indies team was on and off, owing to the emphasis on fast bowling to win matches. Had it not been for the Kerry Packer impact in 1978 when the first team players left to play World Series cricket, Jumadeen's Test career would have been shorter. Jumadeen passed away at the age of 75 years on July 27, 2023.
