Ridley Jacobs

Jacobs was West Indies' one success story of the late 1990s. A wicketkeeper and left-hand bat, he hailed from Swetes, the same Antiguan village as Curtly Ambrose, but had to wait until his 31st birthday for his Test debut, which came against South Africa in 1998-99. Jacobs's relish for fast bowling helped him top the batting averages on that unhappy tour, and three years later he notched his maiden Test century against the same opponents in Barbados, and scored two more after that - the second of which kept England's bowlers away from the West Indian tail as Brian Lara went about scoring his 400. Given a true pitch, Jacobs could be compelling viewing, unleashing booming strokes off either foot from a high backlift, but quality spin tended to tie him in knots. His batting, if inelegant, became more consistent and he was a valuable source of runs for West Indies. However, his glovework started to fail him and his form fell away dramatically in England in 2004. He was also troubled by knee trouble, returning home before the end of the tour and he retired from international cricket the following spring.
Simon Briggs April 2005