Top 5 players from Trinidad & Tobago

The island nation Trinidad & Tobago have been a vital provider of quality cricketers to the West Indian cricket team ever since the islands came together to form their own team. To this day, they remain one of the most important domestic sides in the Caribbean.

The team have existed since 1869, producing excellent cricketers who have gone on to carve out distinguished careers in the international arena. Taking into account the number of excellent players who have represented Trinidad & Tobago, here are five of the best.

#5 Sunil Narine

The West Indies have never been blessed with 'mystery' spinners but with the emergence of Trinidad & Tobago's Sunil Narine, they now have the finest limited-overs spinner in the world. Narine's ability to bowl the big off-spinner, the doosra and the carrom ball, in addition to other tricks make him a difficult bowler to score off in limited overs cricket.

He made his debut for Trinidad & Tobago back in 2009 and in 2011, won his first international cap for the West Indies. Narine has played only six Test matches but in one-day internationals and T20Is, he remains an essential part of the West Indies set-up.

In 65 one-dayers, he has taken 92 wickets at an average of 26.46, More importantly, he concedes only a shade over 4 runs per over. In 48 T20Is, the Trinidadian has 50 wickets, but yet again, it is his economy rate of a just over 6 that makes him such an important player. Narine plays T20 cricket for a variety of franchises all across the world in private leagues and remains one of the best spinners in modern limited-overs cricket.

#4 Ian Bishop

Ian Bishop

He might be known more for his fine abilities as a commentator at the moment, but had it not been for injuries, Ian Bishop would have definitely gone on to become one of the best fast bowlers of his generation.

Bishop is, however, definitely the best fast bowler to have been produced by Trinidad & Tobago and after making his first-class debut in 1986-87, he was picked to play for the West Indies in the home series against India in 1989.

Bishop had the ability to not only bowl at great pace but also swing the ball and generate seam movement. He was also capable of bowling a mean bouncer. That made him a very difficult bowler to face and a tally of 161 wickets in 43 Test matches at an average of 24.27 is a testament to his abilities as a bowler.

In one-dayers, he picked up 118 wickets in 84 games. However, a vertebral stress fracture reared its ugly head in 1991 and Bishop had to change his action to keep going. That did not prevent his body from breaking down though and he eventually retired from the game in 1998. That being said, his status as one of Trinidad & Tobago's greatest bowlers is not in question.

#3 Dwayne Bravo

Dwayne Bravo

Trinidad & Tobago's all-rounder Dwayne Bravo has been one of the pillars of West Indies cricket for around a decade. As a batsman, Bravo is an excellent stroke maker at the best of times and has often shepherded plenty of tricky run-chases for the West Indies, as well as for the T20 franchises that he has represented in different parts of the world.

However, it is his variety as a slow medium bowler that has often been lauded. The ability to mix things up with the ball is what has made him one of the best all-rounders in limited overs cricket. As a fielder, Bravo is in a different league altogether and his athleticism coupled with his catching abilities make him a stand out performers in all formats of the game. He is one of Trinidad & Tobago's best ever products, without a doubt.

#2 Sonny Ramadhin

Sonny Ramadhin

The West Indies aren't known for being the land of great spin bowlers but back in the 1950s and 60s, they had some great spinners in the side and Trinidad & Tobago's Sonny Ramadhin was among the best. He was such a talented bowler that the selectors picked him for the tour to England in 1950 after he had played only a couple of first-class games. In his very first series, he proved to be a revelation.

Ramadhin had the rare gift of bowling both leg-spin and off-spin with the same action and that confused batsmen no end. In a career that lasted around 11 years, Ramadhin played 43 Test matches and picked up 158 wickets at an average of 28.98. In first-class cricket, he played 184 games for Trinidad, Lancashire and Lincolnshire and ended up snaring 758 wickets.

#1 Brian Lara

Brian Lara

Trinidad & Tobago produced arguably the greatest batsman to have ever played for the West Indies and possibly one of the greatest batsmen in history, Brian Lara. Lara debuted for the island nation in first-class cricket back in the 1987-88 season and by 1990, he had made it to the West Indies side due to the obvious gifts that he possessed as a stroke-maker.

He holds the record for both, the highest score in first-class cricket (501*) and in Test cricket (400*). Lara carried the West Indian batting for the greater part of his career. In 131 Tests, he scored 11593 runs at an average of 52.88 and notched up 34 hundreds.

In the 299 one day internationals that he played, Lara made 10405 runs at an average of 40.48, with 19 centuries. It is quite certain that a batsman of his stature will never come along again.