Former Trinidad and Tobago and West Indies all-rounder Bernard Julien has died at the age of 75.
The cause of his death is not known at this time.
Julien, a member of the victorious West Indies 1975 ICC Cricket World Cup squad was often referred to as a stylish, versatile and dependable allrounder.
These characteristics came to the fore during that 1975 tournament in England and in particular, his ability to swing the ball in the early years of One Day Internationals.
Julien claimed 4 for 20 in a Man of the Match performance against Sri Lanka and 4 for 27 against New Zealand as West Indies stormed into the final.
Against Australia in the final at Lord’s, Julien dismissed opener Alan Turner and later helped dismantle Australia’s tail in a spell which produced 2 for 38 in 12 overs, holding his own an attack which possessed the likes of regular headliners Andy Roberts, Keith Boyce, Lance Gibbs, and Vanburn Holder. He then added a valuable 26 not out as the West Indies lifted its first world championship.
After making his First Class debut for T&T aged 18, Julien burst onto the international scene in 1973 by scoring 121 in just his third test match from 127 deliveries, and shared in a 150-run partnership with Garry Sobers against England at Lord’s.
He played 24 Tests and amassed 866 runs at an average of 30.92 and scalped 50 wickets at 37.36 for the West Indies. He appeared in 12 One-Day Internationals and scored just 86 runs at 14.33 to go along with 18 wickets at an average of 25.72.
However, Julien’s career at the top of West Indies cricket was curtailed by his appearance in the 1977 Kerry Packer World Series tournament, followed by the 1982-83 and 1983-84 tours ‘rebel’ tours to then apartheid South Africa.
In 2005, aged 54, Julien was diagnosed with throat cancer and given a 90 percent chance of beating the disease; however, he subsequently recovered.
