West Indies’ first World Cup hero passes away

All-rounder Bernard Julien, a member of the West Indies' first ODI World Cup-winning team, has died. He breathed his last at the age of 75 in Valsene, North Trinidad yesterday.

West Indies won the inaugural ODI World Cup in 1975. He played a role in the team's title win. He took 4 wickets for 20 runs against Sri Lanka in the group stage. He also took 4 wickets for 27 runs against New Zealand in the semi-final. In the final at Lord's against Australia, Julien scored an impeccable 26 runs off 37 balls and remained wicketless for 58 runs in 12 overs.

West Indies captain Clive Lloyd has acknowledged Julien's contribution to the 1975 World Cup victory. Speaking to the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian, Lloyd praised Julien and said, "He always played more than 100 percent. He never shirks his duties. I could rely on him with bat and ball. He gave his all in every match. He was a great cricketer.’

After making his international debut in 1973, Julien played 24 Tests and 12 ODIs for the country. Julien scored 866 runs in Tests and 86 runs in ODIs. He took 50 wickets in Tests and 18 wickets in ODIs with the ball. Julien last played for the country in 1977.

In Tests, Julien scored centuries against England at Lord’s and against Pakistan at Karachi. He played a match-winning innings of 121 runs against England and 101 runs against Pakistan.

Julien scored 5,790 runs in 195 first-class matches, including three centuries and 27 half-centuries. The left-arm pacer took 483 wickets. He took 1,450 runs and 153 wickets in 115 List ‘A’ matches.