The complete all-rounder – he bowled pace, spin and could bat – Bernard Julien was in only his third Test when he came to Lord’s with the West Indies, although he had plenty of experience of England having already completed two summers with Kent.
Julien made his Test debut in a dominant Windies win at the Oval, the second Test was a draw at Edgbaston, and then at Lord’s he was part of an astonishing first-innings score of 652/8. Batting at No 8, Julien had already seen his captain Rohan Kanhai make 157, and came to the crease with the score at 373/6. He and fellow all-rounder Garry Sobers proceeded to put England’s bowlers to the sword, before Sobers had to retire with a bad stomach.
When Julien reached his ton, thanks to some clean striking and orthodox shots around the ground, he was mobbed by the West Indies supporters at Lord’s. Sobers returned to reach 150, the visitors declared, and then ran through the England batting line-up twice – Julien himself picking up 3 wickets in the second innings. The margin of victory - an innings of 226 runs – remains England’s second heaviest innings defeat of all time.