2006 Nominee: Sir Clyde Walcott
(The Sticky Wicket West Indies Hall of Fame in Antigua launches its voting process to select two more persons to join the select group of legends to be named among "Cricket's Finest". Voting ends November 30, 2006).
One of the men vying for a place among is Sir Clyde Walcott, who can be appropriately called Mr Cricket. His entire life was dedicated to the game. From his early days at school until just a few years before he died, Sir Clyde was involved in cricket at some level.
He represented Barbados and West Indies with distinction as a powerful batsman, wicket-keeper and bowler; was a selector and manager of the West Indies team; and later was president of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and head of the International Cricket Council (ICC). On the field of play, Walcott was a giant of a man.He was tall – standing at six feet three inches – and hit the ball powerfully especially off the backfoot. He combined with two other legendary Barbadians – Sir Frank Worrell and Sir Everton Weekes – to form the famous Three Ws, a triumvirate of batting experts, who carried with them the hopes, dreams and aspirations of Caribbean people all over the world.
Sir Clyde first played for Barbados while a 16-year-old schoolboy in 1942, and in 1947 he added 574 for the fourth wicket with his, Sir Frank, for Barbados against Trinidad. Walcott's share was 314. In 44 Test matches he made 3798 runs at the amazing average of 56.68, with a topscore of 220.
One of his finest moments of his illustrious career came at Lord’s in 1950 when he made a brilliant 168 not out off the England bowlers. This helped the West Indies to record their first victory at the home of cricket. The victory brought great joy to the hearts of West Indians and Walcott’s contribution would be remembered for all time.
In all first-class cricket he made 11820 runs in 144 matches at 56.55 per innings, with 40 centuries. After leaving the game as a player, he demonstrated his skills of administration and leadership. He left Barbados and worked on the sugar plantations in Guyana and as named president of the Guyana Cricket Board.
During the 1950s and 1960s he was responsible for the coaching and development of many Guyanese cricketers some of who went on to represent their country and the West Indies. During the glory days of West Indies cricket in the 1970s and 1980s, Sir Clyde was again at the helm. He was chief selectors and manager of the team, which won the first two Cricket World Cup tournaments in England in 1975 and 1979.
He moved on to become president of the WICB and was the first non-Englishman to lead the ICC. During his tenure as the head of world cricket, he ensured that the principles of the "gentleman's game" were respected.
In 1994 he received a knighthood for his contribution to the game. Sir Clyde died on August 26 this year at age 80 and was buried next to Sir Frank, overlooking the 3Ws Oval at the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies in Barbados. His immense contribution to West Indies cricket and the game worldwide will live with us forever.
* NOTE: If Sir Clyde Walcott is selected to the Sticky Wicket Hall of Fame, he will join Sir Garfield Sobers, Sir Frank Worrell, Sir Everton Weekes, Sir Viv Richards, George Headley, Clive Lloyd, Courtney Walsh, Curtly Ambrose, Malcolm Marshall, Lance Gibbs, Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Brian Lara, and Ridley Jacobs.