The West Indies cricket team is different from all other cricket-playing teams. Unlike all the other teams, the West Indies outfit is made up of a combination of players from many nations. They band together to form one single team to play against the others.
The island of Jamaica, home of players like Michael Holding, Chris Gayle, and others is nearly 2000 km away from Barbados, home of Gary Sobers, Malcolm Marshall, and others. Barbados in turn is about 1000 km from Guyana, home of Clive Lloyd. Then there are Trinidad, Antigua, and several smaller countries whose players make up the West Indies team.
Each country is proud of its own identity and cultural heritage. Therefore, it is not unusual that there is often an undercurrent of rivalry between the cricket players. But by and large the players put aside their differences when they play for the West Indies team. However, this was not always the case in the past.
Role of Sir Frank
To bring about unity in the West Indies team, one man played an important role in the history of cricket in the Caribbean. His name was Sir Frank Worrell who was born exactly 100 years ago, on 1st August, 1924 in Barbados.
Cricket historians have credited Sir Frank Worrell with many firsts. He was the first black cricketer to lead the West Indies. Before him, black players were deemed unfit to lead the team. Because a captain had to be well educated, be articulate, and able to address public gatherings as well as the media and present a good image of his land to the rest of the world.
Charismatic leader
Worrell had all these qualities in abundance. He was a charismatic leader, an excellent player and had a charming personality. He spoke with excellent diction, expressed his feelings and thoughts very accurately and could instantly strike up a rapport with VIPs as well as the common cricket fans.
Such was the love and respect that he commanded that as long as he was at the helm, nobody questioned his authority. As a player too, he was one of the best in the team and he led by example. He played in 51 Test matches and accumulated 3860 runs with nine centuries, the highest score being 261. He also captured 69 wickets with the best effort being 7 wickets for 70 runs.
Elegant style
Wisden magazine has described his batting as being silky and smooth. In an article it has been written: “While his teammates Clyde Walcott bludgeoned the bowlers and Everton Weekes dominated them, the stylist Worrell waved them away. He was an artist and had the most style and elegance. Even when he ducked beneath a bouncer, he did so with a lack of panic and great dignity. And remember he had fast bowlers like Ray Lindwall and Keith Miller to contend with.”
Moment of glory
Perhaps the most glorious match of Worrell’s career came in 1960 during the first ever tied Test match in Brisbane, Australia. In the fourth innings Australia needed to get 233 to win the match. Then an unbelievable thing happened.
As Australia began inching towards its goal, it also kept losing wickets. Finally the match ended in a tie with the last wicket being a run out resulting from a direct throw by Joe Solomon from square leg. A tie had never happened before in the history of cricket.
A miracle happened
Gary Sobers said later: “In such a situation, normally the West Indies players would have not been able to withstand the tension and would have given up. But skipper Worrell was in the field and as long as he was there, we could not let him down. So we kept fighting and finally a miracle happened. The match ended in a tie!”
Revived cricket
Sir Don Bradman, the head of the Australian Cricket Board, said later that the two rival captains namely Richie Benaud of Australia and Sir Frank Worrell of the West Indies had given cricket a new lease of life. Cricket was in danger of dying slowly because of a defensive approach everywhere. The fresh outlook of Worrell and Benaud revived the fortunes of the game.
Unfortunately, Frank Worrell, a man described as a statesman of cricket, was diagnosed with cancer shortly after his 40th birthday. He passed away in 1967 at the age of 42.
Ended cliques
After his death, Wisden wrote: “Though he made his name as a player, his greatest contribution was to destroy the myth that a coloured cricketer was not a fit captain. He ended the cliques and rivalries between the players of various islands to weld together a team which in the space of five years became the champions of the world.”
Now a trophy carrying his name – the Frank Worrell Trophy — is awarded to the winning team in every Test series between Australia and the West Indies.
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