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How did Geoffrey Greenidge make a WI team?

 
Larr Pullo 2020-05-05 16:26:21 

Surely there were many better players during that period?

In 1976 he was at the centre of a massive row when the Guyanese government cancelled the Shell Shield match with Barbados because Greenidge had visited Rhodesia with an international side the previous winter. Barbados refused to back down and returned home. He was the last white player to be picked for West Indies until Brendan Nash played in 2008.

 
Dukes 2020-05-05 16:41:56 

In reply to Larr Pullo
I remember in December 1972 there was a lot of rain in Guyana and the National cricketers were practicing on the tarmac at the Park.I was there with a Bajan friend who knew the players very well.Present were Gibbs,Lloyd and Freddo and Freddo joked about not getting selected as the opening pair would be Greenidge and Greenidge and Gibbs and Lloyd told him absolute rubbish, that his place was safe.
Geoffrey Greenidge had reasonable success against a weak New Zealand bowling attack.

 
Larr Pullo 2020-05-05 17:00:46 

In reply to Dukes

Reasonable success? One 50?

 
Larr Pullo 2020-05-05 17:02:39 

In reply to Dukes

the opening pair would be Greenidge and Greenidge


Are you talking about Geoffrey and Gordon? CG Greenidge was not in the frame at that time(1972).

 
Dukes 2020-05-05 17:09:17 

In reply to Larr Pullo

OF COURSE HE WAS!!!!
Gordon had played 3 seasons for Hampshire,1970,1971 and 1972.He had scored over 1,000 runs in both 1971 and 1972 and came back to Barbados to prepare for the 1973 local season.The players particularly Lloyd,Gibbs and Fredericks who were all playing in England were certainly aware of him and the press in Barbados were already hyping him even before he made his debut for Barbados.

 
Larr Pullo 2020-05-05 17:13:28 

In reply to Dukes

For a WI pick?

When did CG Greenidge debut for Barbados?

 
Dukes 2020-05-05 17:13:39 

In reply to Larr Pullo

I just checked and in the first match he played for Barbados in early January 1973,Gordon scored 88 and 61 opening along with Geoffrey who made 66 in the first innings.

 
Larr Pullo 2020-05-05 17:19:18 

In reply to Dukes

Yeah If I recall he played about 2 seasons with Barbados before he went off to India in 1974.

 
Dukes 2020-05-05 18:18:55 

In reply to Larr Pullo

Geoffrey Greenidge made 148* for Barbados against the touring Australians in 1973

 
granite 2020-05-05 19:05:34 

In reply to Dukes

What about a certain T.Griffith who opened the batting for W.Indies,how he made a WI team,another Bajan again,he wasn't white though.
I have been trying to find the name on Wikipedia but no luck,maybe I'm wrong,I seem sure that a Griffith opened for the WI in the early 70s.

 
FuzzyWuzzy 2020-05-05 19:15:11 

In reply to Larr Pullo

...but making tons of runs for Barbados and Sussex big grin

 
granite 2020-05-05 19:49:24 

Adrian Griffith played for W.Indies 14 tests average 24.

 
TheTrail 2020-05-06 17:56:28 

Was Geoffrey Greenidge rewarded...? wink


How good was Alvin Greenidge as a batsman? Did he make many runs in the BCA back in the day?

Interesting:

Geoffrey Greenidge

Alvin Greenidge

Gordon Greenidge

All three of them were WI opening batsmen.

 
dayne 2020-05-06 18:28:55 

Both Geoffery and Alvin Greenidge made the WI team by being in the right place at the right time. Both were selected at that time because they were the more consistent of the inconsistent.

 
Dukes 2020-05-06 19:05:22 

In reply to dayne

Alvin only played test cricket when the Kerry Packer players were excluded from the team.

 
Ewart 2020-05-06 19:37:51 

In reply to granite

Teddy Griffith?


//

 
tc1 2020-05-06 20:43:07 

In reply to Ewart

In the 50s, Bim had many good openers, Roy Marshall, Cammie Smith and Teddy Griffith , but the best of them all Conrad Hunte, who model his batting after George Headley(Headley dad was from the same parish as Hunte). Hunte made the Bim team at 18, dominated regional cricket, but was not selected until 1957 to play for the WI.

 
CWWeekes 2020-05-06 20:53:58 

If my memory serves me right I believe Geoffrey Greenidge made a double century as a teenager, against Jamaica around 1967. He was a good fielder.

 
tc1 2020-05-06 21:31:18 

In reply to CWWeekes

You are correct, a slow double.

 
Baje 2020-05-06 21:40:13 

Those were the days when scoring a century against the touring twm gave the local boy a chance to debut ala Rowe.
Geoffrey scored 120+ against the touring New Zealanders.
Geoffrey scored 140+ against the touring Australians

 
Baje 2020-05-06 21:41:16 

In reply to tc1
How many schoolboys scored a double and claimed 7 wickets in an innings, in the same match. This was a monumental achievement for a school boy.

 
tc1 2020-05-06 22:26:49 

In reply to Baje

I knew Jeffrey history well, played against him in Ronald tree.

 
Norm 2020-05-07 01:37:35 

Geoff Greenidge earned his WI place through consistent good performances in regional first class cricket. He was a dour batsman and outstanding fielder. He was a leg spinner of some note, but seemed to have stopped bowling to concentrate on his batting. Opening with Robin Bynoe, he kept the other end going while the aggressive Bynoe plundered runs.

Fredericks had become somewhat reckless and Carew was failing regularly, so the WI selectors might have tried Geoff Greenidge to see if he would provide some stability at the top of the innings. I saw him score a patient half century against New Zealand at Bourda. He also ran out one of the Kiwi batsmen.

Quick in the field, he was also a stylish dresser, fielding in long sleeves even on the hottest days.

 
Dukes 2020-05-07 02:28:41 

In reply to Norm


Fredericks had become somewhat reckless


Which year was this you are talking about?

 
Norm 2020-05-07 04:40:10 

In reply to Dukes

Which year was this you are talking about?

I didn't know that recklessness was a yearly occurrence. For context, Geoff Greenidge made his Test debut in the early 70's, about a year or two after Fredericks made his.

 
Dukes 2020-05-07 11:59:41 

In reply to Norm

Sorry to mash your corn boss.I was just wondering when Freddo had become reckless because as you point out it was the early 70's when Greenidge played test cricket and I was attending every match in Guyana and following cricket in the WI very carefully.I remember Freddo being Very successful at the time scoring more than 1000 runs in both the 1972 and 1973 seasons in the WI and averaging over 60 in both seasons.I also remember him scoring a century in each innings against Australia for Guyana at Bourda and causing Clyde Walcott on introducing the WI team to refer to him as our kissing opening batsman as a female spectator had run out on the field when he reached his 100 in both innings.

 
FuzzyWuzzy 2020-05-07 12:34:28 

Max Walker ended Geoffrey Greenidge's career

 
Dukes 2020-05-07 12:48:33 

In reply to FuzzyWuzzy

Rawle Brancker vs Tony White.

lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol

 
Dukes 2020-05-07 12:54:22 

In reply to Dukes
lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol

I wuss dan Obama when it comes to laughing at my own jokes

 
Larr Pullo 2020-05-07 13:23:25 

For all these runs Geoffrey allegedly made, his FC and test avg were south of Thirty. What gives?

 
Dukes 2020-05-07 13:38:30 

In reply to Larr Pullo

It is not "ALLEGEDLY" It is REAL.

 
Larr Pullo 2020-05-07 14:19:21 

In reply to Dukes

The alleged runs are the runs he allegedly made which would have catapulted his avg north of mediocre. lol lol

 
hubert 2020-05-07 16:36:31 

In reply to Norm

He had a tremendous Shell Shield game against Jamaica in 1967 at the Mecca.Scored a double ton( 217 ?) and then took 7 or eight wickets
to bowl down Jamiaca.
Talk about bowl down.. i have a few,Frank King shattering Tom Graveney's stumps when he was sent to open with England needing some 80 to win in 5th Test
of 1954 and recently young Singh of Guyana at Sabina on debut..but the most ghastly sight was Geoff Greenidge's stumps flying from a swinging
Max Walker yorker at Bina 1st Test of 1973.
The memory remains fresh.
smile

 
Norm 2020-05-07 21:38:19 

In reply to Dukes

Sorry to mash your corn boss.

Mash all you want. That stuff doesn't bother me. Man lash me and I might lash him back. Man wants decent conversation and I am all for that.

I was just wondering when Freddo had become reckless

Freddo and Geoff G opened the WI innings when Geoff G made his Test debut in 1972. Freddo, in his 3rd year of Test cricket, made 42 and Greenidge 50. That alone makes my point. The crowd (I was there) was "stupsing" when Freddo got out, stating that he wasted yet another opportunity for a big score.

BTW, Kalli on debut made 100*, and Glen Turner made 259 in the same match.

To repeat for you, Freddo made 42 and Geoff Greenidge made 50 in that same match, with Freddo and Geoff G facing exactly the same bowling.

 
Norm 2020-05-07 21:41:07 

In reply to hubert

The memory remains fresh.

Amazing!

Geoffrey Greenidge was sort of an early Shiv, who was also a good leg spinner early in his cricket career.

 
CWWeekes 2020-05-07 21:54:39 

In reply to hubert

Was actually at Sabina that Saturday evening
when Greenidge opened the innings.I remember thinking that Greenidge was tired from being in the field for almost 2 days.

 
Dukes 2020-05-07 23:39:04 

In reply to Norm

My response is to just put out the numbers in the 1971-72 and 1972-73 West Indies cricket seasons.I will put out all the numbers in both test and first class matches.
FIRST CLASS SEASON 1971-72
----------------------M----I-----NO-----R-----HS-----AV----100----50
Geoffrey Greenidge 7-----12----2----426----126---42.60----1-----2
Roy Fredericks------10-----19----2---1077----163---63.35---3-----6

FIRST CLASS SEASON 1972-73

-----------------------M------I------NO------R------HS-----AV----100----50
Geoffrey Greenidge----7-----13------2------542----148*---49.27---1-------4
Roy Fredericks--------10-----18------2-----1076----158----67.25---3-------7

TEST SEASON 1971-72
1st test Fredericks 163 &33
2nd test Fredericks 69 &31
3rd test Fredericks 5 & 28

4th test Fredericks 41 & 42*. Greenidge 50 & 35*

5th test Fredericks 60 & 15 Greenidge 38 & 21

TEST SEASON 1972-73

1st test Fredericks 31 & 21. Greenidge 0 & did not bat

2nd test Fredericks 98 & 22* Greenidge 9 & 10*

3rd test Fredericks. 16 & 76

4th test Fredericks 30 & 6 Greenidge 22 & 24

5th test Fredericks 73 & 8

For the others who wonder why I bothered to post the above

Fredericks had become somewhat reckless and Carew was failing regularly, so the WI selectors might have tried Geoff Greenidge to see if he would provide some stability at the top of the innings.

 
Norm 2020-05-08 00:49:24 

In reply to Dukes

Great. Now you want to turn this into a Geoff Greenidge vs Fredericks discussion. Good luck with that, because the topic is: "How did Geoffrey Greenidge make a WI team?".

Your first class stats above show how Geoff Greenidge made the WI team, even if you were off topic, and even if you did not show Greenidge's best season.

 
Dukes 2020-05-08 00:52:56 

In reply to Norm

You were the person that said that Fredericks had become reckless and I would challenge anybody to look at those numbers and come up with that doozy.

 
RedDuppy 2020-05-08 02:13:37 

In reply to Dukes Did you ever see the batsman from T&&, Ron Faria I think his name was. Left handed opener that batted so much like Freddo although in terms of talent not in the same ball park. He played a nice knock against Bim one year and I mused he looked promising. That is why the saying one swallow doth not a summer make is so true lol.

 
Dukes 2020-05-08 02:18:34 

In reply to RedDuppy

I remember the name but I never saw him play.

 
Norm 2020-05-08 02:37:29 

In reply to RedDuppy

Did you ever see the batsman from T&&, Ron Faria

I don't think Ron Faria ever played in Guyana. He was pursuing an engineering career during his playing days and became a civil engineer. A dour batsman, he was prone to being caught at short leg against off spinners.

Ironically, he himself was an outstanding fielder close to the wicket, and especially at short leg!

From what I heard, he (wisely) chose a career in engineering after moderate success in about five years of first class cricket.

 
Dukes 2020-05-08 02:41:37 

In reply to RedDuppy

Actually I must have seen Ron Faria but have no recollection of it.I remember the name so I checked.In the match where Winston English scored his only first class ton, Faria played.I saw that match because I remember seeing that English ton at Bourda.In those days because I lived in Queenstown I was a fan of Philbert Blair who played for DCC in Queenstown and he did well in that match. Try as I might though I have no memory of Ron Faria but the records show that he did play in that match.