John Solanky, an all-rounder from East Africa, played for Glamorgan during the 1970s. Born in Tanzania, John had made his first-class debut for East Africa against the MCC in 1963/64 before emigrating to the UK where he played in club and Minor County cricket in Devon. John then joined the Glamorgan staff during 1971 and the following year made his County Championship debut in 1972 against Hampshire at Neath.

John won his county cap during 1973 as he became a regular in the Glamorgan side in both  three-day and one-day games. In all, he struck eight half-centuries during his career with the Welsh county, with his wristy strokeplay often being invaluable in the lower middle-order, whilst his nagging right-arm seam bowling  saw him claim 176 first-class wickets at a cost of just 25 runs apiece.

He left Glamorgan at the end of the 1976 season, following the Club’s acquisition of West Indian all-rounder Collis King for 1977. After briefly acting as a cricket coach and squash professional in South Wales, John moved to Northern Ireland where he played and coached with Lisburn CC and Cliftonville CC.

During the late 1980’s John began a second career as a Technology teacher at a local secondary school in Carrickfergus – a position he held until his untimely and sudden death from a heart attack during 2003.

SOLANKY, John William        

Born – Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, 30^th June 1942.

Died – Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland, 7^th October 2003. 

Best performances for Glamorgan:

In first-class cricket – 73 v Cambridge University at Swansea, 1975; 6/63 v Derbyshire at Buxton, 1975.

In List A cricket – 60 v Derbyshire at Buxton, 1975; 4/23 v Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge, 1973.

	M	I	NO	RUNS	AV	100	50	CT	ST
First-class	82	134	22	2263	20.20	–	8	17	–
List A	90	75	14	1131	18.54	–	2	21	–

	Balls	M	R	W	AV	5wI	10wM
First-class	9707	396	4514	176	25.64	8	–
List A	3554	58	2486	91	27.31	–	–