West Indies Cricket Fraternity Mourns Death Of Iconic Nut Vendor Keith ‘Jumbo’ Martin

West Indies cricket and several fans across the world mourned the death of popular nuts vendor Keith “Jumbo” Martin. The nut seller was reportedly diagnosed with a brief illness before passing away in a hospital at the age of 66.

Martin rose to stardom in the 1980s and the 1990s where he could be spotted selling his homemade nuts at sporting and other events. He was particularly known for selling salted and fresh nuts in Trinidad and Tobago, especially the Queen’s Park Oval.

The tragic news of his death was shared by the official handle of West Indies Cricket on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). In their post, they wrote, “West Indies Cricket extends condolences to the family of our “12th man” Keith Martin, better known as “Jumbo the nuts man”.

Keith’s way of delivering his products to his customers made him a big hit amongst sports fans globally. The late nut seller used his right arm to throw a bag of nuts from field level to any part of the stands. What made his throws more impressive was his unerring accuracy. The official West Indies cricket account also recognised Martin’s delivery skills as they further wrote, “The perfect line and length when throwing a pack of nuts into the stands, Jumbo was the Rallying voice at the Queen’s Park Oval for several decades.”

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His popularity at sporting events also coincided with the Trinidad and Tobago national football team’s attempt at qualifying for the 1990 FIFA World Cup. It was the same time when there used to be a surge of crowds to witness a young Brian Lara. In the 1990s, a cell phone company called TSTT Cell Net featured the nut seller in a commercial that went on to become a massive hit, popularising him amongst more fans. A few years after that Martin migrated to Canada before returning to Trinidad in the early 2000s. In 2023 he completed 50 years of in the business.

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Keith Martin caught the attention of several Indian fans in July 2023 when former India opener Sunil Gavaskar arrived at the Queen’s Park in Savannah. Martin was at the stadium to sing Lord Reator’s ‘Indian Cricketers’ to the batting icon. The song was a tribute to the Indian squad that beat the West Indies 1-0 in 1972. The squad was spearheaded by Gavaskar who played his first Test series. Having finished singing, Martin even bowed down to the Indian cricket icon before shaking his hand.