Andy Ganteaume, the former West Indies and Trinidad & Tobago wicketkeeper batsman, has died at the age of 95. He passed away on Wednesday in Santa Margarita, St Augustine, T&T.
Ganteaume scored 112 on Test debut against England in 1948, but never played for West Indies again. He had added 173 for the first wicket with George Carew, who had hit a century of his own, in that drawn match at the Queen’s Park Oval.
Ganteaume, however, had a longer first-class run – 50 first-class matches over 23 seasons making 2785 runs, including five centuries, at 34.81 – playing as often as his work in the Trinidad Civil Service would allow. Having had no formal coaching, he made his first-class debut for Trinidad a few weeks after his 20th birthday in 1941 and, batting at No. 8, stroked 87. He had also been a regular member of Trinidad’s football team. After his playing career, Ganteaume served as a selector and West Indies’ team manager.
The WICB had lauded Ganteaume’s contribution to the game when he turned 95 last month. “We salute Andy Ganteaume, one of the patriots of our great game,” WICB president Dave Cameron had said. “Andy has also contributed a lot off the field as well, especially with the development of our cricket… A wonderful player and administrator.”
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo