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(Part 15.) Talent to burn.
Bernard Julien had everything… almost.
Shots all around the wicket, left-arm swing, athletic in the field and, just to ensure there was more than a bit of style to go with the substance, that classic 1970s look complete with afro, sideburns and saga-boy swagger.
You could have easily mistaken him for Jim Kelly from the Bruce Lee kick-up Enter the Dragon.
What he lacked, though, was the consistency to fulfil all the early promise.
It didn’t help that, after blazing 121 and featuring in a 231-run seventh-wicket partnership with Garry Sobers in just his third Test—at Lord’s of all places—he was administered the kiss of death by fans and media alike, in 1973, as the heir apparent to the greatest all-rounder to ever play the game.
Photo: Getty Images.
Those close to him growing up in Carenage or who shared dressing rooms with him throughout the cricketing world would probably know best why such abundant talent eventually had just 24 Tests (866 runs at 30.92 and 50 wickets at 37.36) and 12 One-Day Internationals (86 runs at 14.33 and 18 wickets at 25.72) to show for such considerable ability.
But with 36 days to go to the 50th anniversary of the West Indies’ triumph in the 1975 Cricket World Cup final, there was no question that the Trinidad and Tobago all-rounder held a secure spot in the regional side—particularly as Sobers’ bid for a World Cup swansong was ended by a knee injury before the start of the tournament.
Already a seasoned professional with the English county Kent, Julien’s impressive debut series was followed by even more encouraging performances at the start of the return series against the English in the Caribbean in 1974.
An unbeaten 86 in front of the adoring home fans at the Queen’s Park Oval at the start of the campaign and another half-century in the next Test in Kingston fuelled the anticipation, as did his figures of five for 57 in the first innings in Barbados.
It was to be his only five-wicket haul, even though he kept on taking enough wickets here and there to stay in the frame.
He struggled with bat and ball in the five-match series in India in 1974/75 before the move across the border to Pakistan brought him his second and final century: 101 in the first innings in Karachi.
Photo: Getty Images.
By then, Andy Roberts was the undisputed spearhead of the bowling attack and with the likes of Alvin Kallicharran, Gordon Greenidge and Vivian Richards forming the batting nucleus, Julien’s role in the side became increasingly questioned in the absence of more Sobers-like performances.
Still, aged just 25 in the year of the World Cup, he had enough experience of English conditions and the potential to produce a match-winning performance to be a straightforward selection in Clive Lloyd’s squad, and indeed the final XI—in the expectation that he would flourish on cricket’s new global stage.
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Fazeer Mohammed is a journalist/broadcaster with almost 40 years’ experience across a range of media.
His interest in cricket, and particularly its history, started at home via his father’s small collection of autobiographies and magazines, offering perspectives and context which have informed his commentary and analysis on contemporary issues in the game.
Didn’t he also bowl some spin as well?
He did. Like Garry Sobers, he bowled chinamen and googles too.
It’s the reason he was dubbed the new Garry Sobers; he offered all the skills the great man offered, with the exception of his excellence at short-leg