Neil Williams Dies After Stroke

Mon, Mar 27, '06

Former Windward Islands, Middlesex and England all-rounder Neil Williams has died after suffering a brain stem stroke. He was 43.

Williams, who took 675 first-class wickets in a career that spanned 16 years, collapsed at his St Vincent home three weeks ago and was flown to Trinidad for treatment but he never recovered and was pronounced dead on March 27.

Williams, who played one Test match for England against India in 1990 -- and picked up the wickets of Sachin Tendulkar and Mohammed Azharuddin in the match -- was the coach of St Vincent's "Academy for Kids" at the time of his sudden illness.

Williams also played for the MCC in 1984 and toured Zimbabwe in 1984/85 with an English Counties XI.

In between professional stints at Cornwall, Essex, Middlesex and Tasmania, he played for 10 years with the Windwards side, picking up 54 wickets at 23.98 each.

As a new-ball bowler, he helped Middlesex win the County Championship in 1982, 1985, 1990 and 1993. Williams was also a decent lower-order batsman who finished his first-class career with 4457 runs.