`He is a Caribbean icon to many’  
— Dr McGowan on Rohan Kanhai  
“He was a very talented player who had an obsession to score quickly and at times while he struck the ball powerfully, something that belied his height, which was his downfall.”
Those were some of the sentiments used by Dr Winston McGowan who gave a synopsis of his cricketing idol, Rohan Bholalall Kanhai, at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport (MCYS) Historical Lecture Series held recently at the National Library.
“Let me begin by saying, Kanhai has been my idol, hence it is not easy for me to stand here and talk about him, as I maybe biased in my speech. But what I will say is that even though he was not the best batsman in West Indies cricket and to a larger extent the world, he was certainly the most entertaining.
“No one in the history of West Indies cricket, and when I say no one I meant batsmen in the calibre of Sir George Headley, Sir Vivian Richards and even Brian Lara created the excitement Kanhai produced whenever he walked to the wicket.”
Dr McGowan, who is a well renowned historian and lecturer at the University of Guyana, captivated his small audience which included Sports Minister Dr Frank Anthony and Director of Sport Neil Kumar with his description of Kanhai.
“He is an icon for three main reasons – his ability as a cricketer, his contribution to the evolution of Guyana’s cricket and what he contributed to West Indies cricket. That made him a respectable man on and off the field of play.
“At the age of 19, Kanhai commenced his first class career against Barbados at the Kensington Oval, where he failed in both innings.
“Not to be outdone, he returned the following year and demonstrated his ability as a batsman against a visiting Australian attack that included Keith Miller and Richie Benaud and even though Guyana lost the game, his talent was recognised.
“Those two innings propelled him into the West Indies team to tour England and even though the Regional side lost, Kanhai had three solid innings to end with a 40 plus average in the series.”
Kanhai went to India later on and established himself as a talented world class player with a masterful and classy 256, the highest score in India until VVS Laxman surpassed it in 2001 with his 281 against a Steve Waugh-led Australia team.
It was in that same series that Kanhai amassed 538 runs while batting at number three in the West Indies team and used it as a launching pad to his career as he never looked back until his retirement.
So dominant was he, that with the exception of his first series against England and his last against Pakistan, Kanhai has never been a failure in the West Indies team, as he averaged over 40 per series.
“He was an irreplaceable player with a streak of ruthlessness in his batting, yet one of the most correct batsmen in West Indies cricket at that time. His approach to batting was to dominate the bowlers from the very first ball.
Kanhai himself confirmed this in his autobiography entitled ‘Blasting for Runs’. He was so confident, that he made good balls appear bad when he dispatched them to the boundary, doing so at times with disdain.”
It was Kanhai, Basil Butcher, Joe Solomon and the late Ivan Madray who set the pace for East Indians to represent Guyana at regional cricket, thanks to the clout of Sir Clyde Walcott who had earlier engineered their employment at the sugar estates in Berbice.
“East Indians showed little interest in Guyana’s cricket and up to 1945, only six of them had played cricket for Guyana, among whom were Chatterpaul Singh who averaged over 50 from six first class matches before his career was cut short by World War 11.
Up to 1955, no Indian had made his mark in Guyana’s cricket apart from Singh, until the advent of both Kanhai and Madray, with the former ensuring a big turnaround for East Indians in Guyana’s cricket.”
Dr McGowan continued: “There is no doubt that Kanhai was one of the greatest batsmen the West Indies have ever produced, averaging over 50 in 10 of his 17 Test series.
“And what may seem as a surprise to many, Kanhai was the first Guyanese who made a major contribution to West Indies cricket when they became world champions in 1965.
“Kanhai asserted himself in the batting department at number three where he averaged more than Sir Gary Sobers, due to his dominance of the opposition’s bowling from ball one and he was the first Guyanese to have an extended run as captain of the West Indies team, forging a unity within the team that enabled both Clive Lloyd and Sir Vivian Richards to build on.”
Whether it was bating, fielding, captaincy, managing or even coaching, Rohan Bholalall Kanhai certainly executed those duties with authority that made him a Caribbean icon in the sport of cricket today.