Sir Everton a true gentleman of the game

LEGENDARY West Indies (WI) batsman Sir Everton Weekes died at his home in Christ Church, Barbados on Wednesday. He was 95.

Weekes was the last surviving member of the famous Three Ws, who included his WI and Bajan team-mates Clyde Walcott and Frank Worrell.

When Test cricket resumed after the Second World War in January 1948, the trio made their debut against England at home in Barbados. It was here the talented triad would build an impressive batting foundation and go on to become one of the greatest middle-order line-ups to grace the gentleman’s game.

Ricky Skerritt, president of Cricket WI (CWI), said, “He had an amazing legacy as a great cricketer and great human being. He was one of the most humble and decent persons you would have ever met. I want to take this opportunity to publicly express our deepest sympathy to the family of this remarkable gentleman.”

Against India in his debut year, Sir Everton scored five successive Test centuries in three matches and became the first player ever to achieve such a feat. He was even controversially run out for 90 in the fourth Test in Madras while chasing a sixth ton.

He did pass 1,000 Test runs though, in only his 12th innings, another record – jointly held with Herbert Sutcliffe – that still stands. His Test average of 58.61 is one of the highest in all cricket. In 48 Test matches, he scored 4,455 runs at an average of 58.61, with 15 hundreds.

Although extremely talented on the field, Weekes was also known for his role in motivating young cricketers.

Former WI and TT wicketkeeper Deryck Murray hailed Weekes for his stalwart contribution to the development of sport regionally.

“He is one of those gentlemen of the game who has left a lasting legacy. He was always a mentor to any young player that was willing to spend some time with him. He was all too willing to share his knowledge, experience and even just anecdotes of the game.

“He will be remembered fondly by all who had the opportunity to meet with him or even just read about his exploits. I hope the legacy of the three Ws lives on. They are all exemplars which the future of WI cricket will do well to hold up as a beacon for younger ones to aim at.”

TT Cricket Board president Azim Bassarath also reminisced about his first encounter with the legendary Weekes.

“When I became chairman of south-east zone, the first presentation function we had there, we brought Sir Everton to give the feature address in 1998. He was a true gentleman, very soft-spoken. Although he was a legend of the game, he remained grounded.

“One will remember the five consecutive centuries that he scored in international cricket and also in his career, he only hit one six, as far as I remember and through reading about him. He was a cricket legend worldwide and a great loss to the game. There is no (end to the) amount of praise that someone could shower on him for his contributions towards WI cricket,” Bassarath added.

Before 1950, WI had never won a Test on English soil. After losing the first Test at Manchester, where Worrell, Weekes and Walcott batted at three, four and five respectively for the first time, WI rebounded superbly to take the series 3-1.

The Three Ws, as they were dubbed on that tour, became household names, while Weekes also helped himself to four double centuries against county sides and a triple ton against Cambridge University.

Weekes and Worrell were named among Wisden’s five cricketers of the year in 1951, as were spinners Sonny Ramadhin and Alf Valentine, who took 59 wickets between them.

Despite injury problems for Weekes in the years that followed, he hit double centuries against India and England, both in Trinidad, and three back-to-back hundreds in New Zealand in 1956. A thigh injury prompted his international retirement in 1958, aged only 33, just as the great all-rounder Garry Sobers was making his mark – and two years before Worrell became West Indies’ first black captain.

After the end of his cricketing career, Weekes received a range of distinctions, including being made an officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), the Barbados Gold Crown of Merit. In 1995 Weekes was made a Knight of the Order of St Michael and St. George for his services to cricket.