Inshan Ali (25 September 1949 – 24 June 1995) was a West Indian international cricketer who played in 12 Test matches from 1971 to 1977. Biography Born in Preysal, Trinidad and Tobago, of Indian descent, Ali was the second of eight children to Asgar, a manual labourer, and Naimoon Ali. Ali was a left-arm unorthodox spin bowler who made his first-class cricket debut for South Trinidad against North Trinidad on 15 April 1966, aged just 16 years and 202 days. He took three wickets for 89 runs. In his second match, for Trinidad and Tobago against Windward Islands, Ali took 5/32, and, following further good performances, was selected in the West Indies Board President's team to play the touring Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) side. Ali continued to perform well, if unpredictably, at domestic level and was often a trump card for Trinidad at the spin friendly Port-of-Spain, leading to him becoming the first person from central Trinidad to play Test cricket for the West Indies when he made his Test debut on 1 April 1971 against India at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados, taking 0/60 and 1/65. During the 1971/72 home series against New Zealand, Inshan was referred to as "astonishingly skilled and mature" for a player in his early twenties", who "is a small, slim man with short fingers; after a brisk little run his left arm flipped through quickly." Ali had his best bowling performance in this series, taking 5/59 against New Zealand at Port-of-Spain, with the batsmen finding it very difficult to pick his wrist-spin and wrong 'un, leading one onlooker to write "properly handled, (Ali) could be a match-winner against the Australians when they tour the Caribbean next summer." As it turned out, Ali had a solid rather than spectacular series against Australia, taking ten wickets at 47.30 and made spasmodic national appearances afterwards, including one Test each in England and Australia, before his final Test, against Pakistan at Port-of-Spain in April 1977, where he had match figures of 5/159. Ali's continuing success in domestic cricket (he took a record 27 wickets during the 1973–74 Shell Shield season) and a reputation as a mystery spinner however ensured that the West Indies hierarchy retained confidence in him when his results were poor. Prior to the 1975/76 tour of Australia, West Indies captain Clive Lloyd claimed that Ali would be a key to a West Indies series victory, stating