Lord Constantine, MBE, achieved plenty both on and off the field across his 69 years on the planet.

As a cricketer, Learie Constantine was among the finest fielders of his generation and pure excitement with bat and ball.

Though he only averaged 19.24 with the bat and 30.10 with the ball in Test cricket, he was pivotal in the West Indies’ rare early successes in the 1920s and 30s.  When the West Indies beat England for the first time in 1930, his spells of 4/35 and 5/87 were key. He was similarly important in 1935, scoring 90 and taking five wickets for the match in a series-levelling win. They were performances more aligned with the success he enjoyed across 119 first-class matches.

Away from cricket, Constantine was a colossus in the fight against racial prejudice and served as Trinidad and Tobago’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.