deliveries columns catches/stumpings year birth_date tenfor bowling country club fivefor batting image caption fullname birth_place column source date runs wickets s/s matches article_title
balls 3,320 1 10 / -- 1901/02 -- 1904/05 1893/94 -- 1900/01 2011 c. 1872 2 right-arm fast west indies british guiana trinidad 10 right-handed floatwoods.jpg float woods in 1900 joseph ` float ' woods barbados first-class http://www.cricketarchive.com/archive/players/24/24313/24313.html cricketarchive c. 1872 155 107 -- / -- 17 float woods

float woods

joseph ` float ' woods -lrb- born about 1872 in barbados , death details unknown -rrb- was a coloured west indian cricketer best known as a member of the 1900 west indian tourists to england .
he is reckoned to be the first of the coloured west indian fast bowlers that became a hallmark of west indian cricket from the 1960s .
apologising for the lack of a photograph , ` cricket ' in 1900 says `` that woods is a fine specimen of the darkest of the coloured natives of the west indies , that is to say , he is very dark indeed .
he has a good figure , which denotes strength in every movement .
he is very solidly built , and is of medium height .
when his face is in repose one can plainly see that his disposition is phlegmatic , but when it lights up it is full of intelligence .
he speaks english accurately but slowly , and as may be imagined he does not make long speeches .
his bowling is too well known to need description , and all that need be said about it is that when bowling fast he comes across from the leg , while his slow ball comes in from the off .
although -- or perhaps because -- he takes a very short run , he makes a pretty big hole in the ground '' .
he took up the game about the age of 15 and was largely self-taught .
the origin of his nickname is something of a mystery although it is reported that `` his nickname was float , after a local delicacy , as an englishman might be called chips from fish-and-chips '' .
as a professional was not eligible to play in the inter-colonial tournament so his chances to play in big matches in the west indies was very limited .
he made his debut for trinidad against barbados in 1893 -- 94 in an extra match played after the tournament .
the next season he played for all trinidad against slade lucas 's team , the first english tourists , in their only match against the island .
in 1896 -- 97 he played in all four matches for trinidad against the tourists , twice against lord hawke 's team and then twice against priestley 's side .
despite taking 19 wickets against lord hawke 's side he did not play for the combined west indies against priestley 's xi .
he was selected for the 1900 tour of england and was described before the tour as having `` done wonders with the ball against english visiting teams , but doubtful whether he will be effective on good wickets '' .
on the tour he was top in the bowling averages with 72 wickets at an average of 21.54 , just ahead of tommy burton , the other professional .
he was `` on occasions up to his best west indies form , but at other times seemed to lose heart very easily , though it must be confessed he was unlucky in the matter of missed catches '' .
asked whether he was as fast as the english fast bowlers he is reported to have said : `` i think i am faster than those i have seen .
richardson was , perhaps , the fastest , but he is not as fast as i am now .
they tell me he used to be much faster '' .
by 1902 he was playing for british guiana .
he was selected for the combined west indies team in all three of their matches against ra bennett 's team in 1901 -- 02 as well as playing for british guiana .
his final first class matches were for british guiana against lord brackley 's team in 1904 -- 05 when he took 15 wickets in the two matches .
