Tino Best

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Tino Best
West Indies (WI)
Tino Best
Batting style Right hand bat
Bowling type Right arm fast
Tests ODIs
Matches 12 10
Runs scored 174 44
Batting average 10.23 11.00
100s/50s -/- -/-
Top score 27 24
Balls bowled 1851 446
Wickets 26 12
Bowling average 45.03 29.75
5 wickets in innings - -
10 wickets in match - n/a
Best bowling 4/46 4/35
Catches/stumpings 1/- 3/-

As of 25 January 2006
Source: Cricinfo.com

Tino la Bertram Best (born August 26, 1981 in Barbados) is a West Indian cricketer.

Short in stature, Tino Best is fast and aggressive, embodying the attitude that took the West Indies to the top of world cricket throughout the 1970s and 1980s. As yet the statistics of his career are not impressive, with a bowling average of 45 in Test cricket, but there is little doubt that these will improve as he matures and gains experience.

He has all the attributes to be a successful fast bowler, and plays the sport with a passion long missing from the West Indian team. Lightning fast, he is earmarked as a reviver of Caribbean fortunes along with fellow Bajan Fidel Edwards.

A little known fact about Tino is that he made six appearances for a small cricket club in Shropshire (Madeley Salop Cricket Club) where his express pace was extremely successful. His stay was unfortunately cut short by his call up to West Indies A for their tour of England in the summer of 2002.

The world was shown a glimpse of what he can achieve when the West Indies played Pakistan in 2005. After a wicketless first innings - where he had Kamran Akmal caught off a no ball - and a first second-innings spell worth 5-0-30-0, Best took four wickets in 11 balls in his second spell of the second Test to rip the heart out of the Pakistan innings, as Pakistan faltered from 223 for 4 to 309. However, it was not enough to give West Indies the win.

In their last visit to England, Tino was famously stumped off Ashley Giles' bowling after some jovial banter from Andrew Flintoff wound him up sufficiently to try to slog the ball into the windows at Lord's.