Prologue
“Wake up, wake up. They are going to do it,” my mother was shaking my shoulder. I awoke to a proffered cup of hot coffee.
“Who is doing what?” I mumbled, still half-asleep.
It was a ridiculous hour, probably around 4 am, and I had drifted off in my favourite living room chair, the short wave radio at my side. It was 10th February, 1985. My parents were seated at the dining table, cups of hot coffee at ready. Tony Cozier was broadcasting from Australia; the West Indies were mounting another rear-guard action, all hands were on deck.
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Partnerships
Augustine ‘Gus’ Logie and Peter Jeffrey ‘Jeff’ or ‘Duje’ Dujon were crucial members of 1980s West Indies teams – both Test and ODI. Their intangible efforts on the field often changed the momentum of a match in the twinkle of an eye: Logie chasing every ball until it crossed the ropes, or rocking back and forth under the bat, ready to snare the slightest of touches or snicks; ‘Duje’ flying through the air to pluck yet another edge, sprinting to the stumps to gather every return thrown from the outfield, or casually sharing sharp observations on opposing batsmen’s traits with either of his two captains, who, by rote, marshalled the side from the eyrie of first slip. Most important, however, were the rescue acts they performed when the West Indies appeared to be careening off the cliff.
RS: “You had many memorable partnerships with Jeffrey Dujon. Was there any particular reason why you two clicked when batting together?”
GL: “There was the initial bond of coming into the Test squad at the same time, along with the fact that we were the only players without professional contracts in England. Our opportunities to play the lead roles were often limited, when we got them, I guess we just took them. Perhaps we just complimented each other’s style.”
The First Test against India at Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica in February, 1983 (In Search of West Indies Cricket, ‘Magic at Sabina’, 2nd April, 2023) was the pair’s initial appearance together in Test cricket. Andy Roberts had pulled a rabbit out of a hat by capturing India’s final four second innings wickets in just 20 deliveries after the tea break on the final afternoon, to crack the door on a Test match, which had been petering out into a tame draw.
The West Indies had 30 minutes and the 20 mandatory overs to score 172 for an improbable victory. Thanks to the explosive bats of Richards (61) and Greenidge (42), the West Indies were 156 for five, with two and one half overs remaining when Logie replaced Richards, joining Dujon. The word had spread around Kingston when the chase began, and the pre-tea crowd of 2,500 at Sabina Park had swollen to capacity, and now they roared their team on. Logie, on Test debut, dispatched the first delivery he received from Mohinder Amarnauth over long-on for six, before departing off the final ball of the penultimate over, LBW to Kapil Dev, having contributed ten runs to the cause. Dujon, in only his fourth Test, saw the side home (as he was often to do), depositing the second delivery of the twentieth over, a knee-high full toss from Amarnauth “upstairs in the Kingston Club pavilion” in the words of Tony Becca of the Jamaica Gleaner newspaper, the doyen of the island’s cricket writers. Little did we know that it was just a sneak preview of the Dujon-Logie show. It was an act that was replayed time and time again, like the encore song of a band’s repertoire, yet we could never grow tired of it.
With the West Indies boasting an embarrassment of riches in the line-up – Greenidge, Haynes, Richards, Gomes, Lloyd – Dujon often batted sixth in the order, and Logie, who bounced up and down the order, inevitably faced one of two scenarios. The early plunderers had piled up a huge total, and the instructions were to push the score since the declaration was going to happen shortly – no time to build an innings as such – or a collapse had happened and the smoke jumpers were tasked with consolidating the innings. On the rare occasion when time was not a factor, they could play their natural game.
Second Test versus Australia, Queen’s Park Oval, March 16 – 21. Replying to Australia’s first innings total of 255, the West Indies were 129 for four, when Logie joined his captain Richards, who was acting for the injured Lloyd. The pair added an even 100 for the fifth wicket before Richards was caught at the wicket for 76 early on the third morning. Dujon arrived and proceeded to play an innings that is still remembered in revered terms at the Oval. Gerry Gomez, the former West Indies all-rounder, writing in the local press, described Dujon’s pre-lunch knock of 57, as the best half-century he had seen since Frank Worrell’s at Sydney, Australia, in 1960. Dujon’s ten boundaries prior to the break were a sequence of scintillating drives and pulls. The duo’s stand of 156, which swung the pendulum in favour of the hosts, was broken, when Logie, overshadowed by his mate’s elegance and struggling once he hit the nervous nineties was LBW to Jeff Lawson for 97, a huge disappointment for the home crowd favourite. Dujon’s masterful innings of 130, inclusive of two successive hooked sixes off fast bowler Rodney Hogg, and Logie’s patient innings had laid the foundation for a lead of 213. In the end, the West Indies were denied by Allan Border who, followed his first innings of 98* with an undefeated even century, having defied the hosts for ten hours and 34 minutes in the match.
Benson & Hedges World Series Cup, Third Final, 12th February, 1984. The West Indies were very reluctant to play this game, having won the First Final by nine wickets with the Second finishing in a tie. The rules, unlike most other limited over tournaments, did not have any provisions for tied matches; if the final series was incomplete, the team which had won more matches in the preliminary round would be the winner. The West Indies’ eight wins in ten matches against Australia’s five, should have automatically made them the victors. However, the Australia Cricket Board ruled that the match be played. With Lloyd and Richards, both injured, Holding led the team, with Logie, who was only in the squad when Greenidge (following the 1983 Tour of India) withdrew for personal reasons, selected in the eleven. Replying to Australia’s score of 212, the West Indies were 52 for three, when Dujon joined Logie, who seized the rare chance with both hands. The pair fashioned a partnership of 124 to pave the way for a six-wicket victory, with Logie, 88, and Dujon, 82*, scampering between the wickets and running the fieldsmen ragged, as they romped home with 4.3 overs to spare.
Second Test versus New Zealand, at Bourda, Georgetown, 6th – 11th , April, 1985. Batting first, the West Indies had accumulated 407 for five, when Dujon came to the crease. In between two showers of rain Dujon (60*) and Logie (52) punched the ball around the damp outfield, adding 104 at faster than a run a minute, as the West Indies accelerated to the declaration. It was the first time I witnessed the pair in action. Dujon, seventh in the line-up, playing the most fluent of drives, and Logie, punching any loose delivery with incredible power. One cover drive from the small batsman ricocheting off the boundary board between the Men’s and Ladies’ pavilions several yards back on to the field despite the sodden conditions, remains etched in my memory. Their running between the wickets appeared to be telepathic, often turning for twos or threes, without any apparent audible communication. Off the 35 deliveries bowled after tea they garnered 45 runs. The 95-minute partnership provided an insight to the depth of the West Indies batting order and the frustration teams endured when facing the West Indies in that era. (The Test was drawn; Scores WI, 511 & 268 for six declared, New Zealand, 440.)
Benson & Hedges World Series Cup, Second Final, Melbourne, Australia, 10th February, 1985. Here is Logie, recalling the match: “I remember in Australia in ‘85, we won all ten of our preliminary matches in the Benson & Hedges Cup, the first team ever to do so, and we had lost the First Final [Best of Three] to Australia. We had to score 272 to win the second game, and when Jeffrey and I came together [179 for five – Haynes (44), Richardson (50), Gomes (47), Richards (9), Lloyd (13)], we needed about 100 at nearly eight an over. Clive [Lloyd] later said he thought we needed a miracle. I remember telling Jeffrey, we have got to do this.”
The score was about 200 when I was awakened, and we listened in silence – one could only speak at the end of an over and no one was allowed to get up or switch chairs, less the partnership be broken – as the two batsmen diligently set to work. The tension mounted with each passing over as the pair sprinted between the wickets and the radio commentators relayed the scene. Close runs found one gripping the chair in anxiety. Against the odds, they inched closer and closer, hope turned to belief.
GS: “I got out near the end [265 for six, having made 60 off 56 balls], going back to the dressing room, I told Clive [on his last tour] ‘This one is for you Skipper.’ Jeffrey [39 not out] saw us home in the final over …[WI won by four wickets, with four balls to spare].”
Centre stage at Lord’s
Second Test versus England, Lord’s, June 16 – 21, 1988. Dujon and Logie selected Cricket’s Headquarters for their magnum opus as a duo. On the first day, the West Indies were floundering at 54 for five, when the ambulance drivers arrived on the scene. In their usual adroit manner, the rescuers – sixth and seventh in the order – rebuilt the innings, batting with restraint and patience. Their 130 stand occupied 149 minutes, giving the visitors’ score some kind of respectability. It was John Emburey, the tall, right arm off spinner who eventually managed to deceive Dujon in flight, clean bowling him to separate the two. Dujon’s innings of 53, replete with eight boundaries, and Logie’s 81, littered with 14 fours, were lectures on how to approach adversity. Logie was the eighth wicket to fall, at 199, as West Indies posted a subdued 209.
At 112 for two, with Graham Gooch and David Gower coasting along, England seemed poised for a sizable lead. Malcolm Marshall had other ideas, scuttling the hosts for six wickets at the miserly cost of 32 runs. Greenidge, 103, and Richards, 72, ensured that there was no repeat of the first innings’ disaster, and when the latter departed at 240 for five, the visitors were in the driving seat. It was then the turn of the duo to apply the pressure. It was the third day of the match, time was not a factor. Once again, with cool heads and due diligence, they stifled the England attack for their second century stand of the match, 131 in 134 minutes. Dujon’s second 50 of the match, 52, was the only instance he achieved the feat. (Dujon never had the opportunity to bat in the second innings of 29 percent of the Tests he appeared in.) Unfortunately, Logie ran out of partners, left high and dry on 95 not out, just short of a well deserved century. Despite Allan Lamb’s second innings century (113), England lost by 134 runs. Scores: WI, 209 & 397. England, 165 & 307. Player of the Match: Gus Logie.
RS: “What was the reason for your successful partnerships with Gus Logie?”
JD: “Bowlers had difficulties adjusting their line and length to us, as we were constantly rotating the strike. Gus played off the back foot, pulling and cutting a lot. I drove off the front, and we ran well between the wickets.”
Last stand
First Test versus Australia, Sabina Park, March, 1st – 6th , 1991. In the West Indies first innings Logie was struck under the right eye by Craig McDermott, despite the protective grille of the helmet. He was forced to leave the field for seven stitches, with the West Indies 69 for three, soon afterwards slumping to 75 for six. Dujon held it together with Ambrose (33), carrying the score to 144. Logie returned at 166 for eight, and, with Dujon (59) took the total to 234. It was their last significant stand in the Caribbean. Scores: WI, 264; Logie, 77* & 334 for three declared, Richardson, 104*, Haynes, 84, Richards, 52*. Australia, 371; David Boon, 109. Drawn.
Career summaries:
Augustine Logie: Tests: 52; Runs: 2,470; Average: 35.79; Centuries: 2; Fifties: 16; Highest Score: 130 vs India, Bridgetown, 1983
Peter Jeffrey Dujon: Tests: 81; Runs: 3, 322; Average: 31.94; Centuries: 5; Fifties: 16; Highest Score: 139 vs Australia, Perth, 1984
“There are three kinds of lies, lies, damned lies and statistics,” an adage popularised by Mark Twain (origin unknown).
The contributions Gus Logie and Jeff Dujon made and continue to make to West Indies cricket cannot be quantified in numbers. Despite no professional contracts in England, Logie continued to play third-class cricket ‘down south’ for Texaco–Brighton, and for five summers club cricket on the weekends in the parks in New York, changing in the car. Dujon continued to play for Kingston Club, and then Wanderers in Barbados. Dujon’s five centuries, and Logie’s four nineties all made at critical times are just shadows of what they brought to the table. They are the only two West Indian teammates to have played at least 50 Tests and never experienced losing a Test series.
Current status: Gus Logie is the Head Coach for Bailey’s Bay Club in Bermuda and Jeff Dujon is a television commentator, calling the game as sees it.
