Caribbean legend Everton Wicks has passed away

Caribbean legend Everton Wicks has passed away

West Indies legend Sir Everton Weeks is no more. The former batsman died at his home in Barbados on Wednesday after a long illness.

Cricket West Indies announced his death through social media. Weeks was 95 years old.

He had a heart attack in June last year. He has been ill ever since.

Weeks was the last surviving member of the famous 'Three W' in the West Indies. The other two, Sir Frank Orrell and Sir Clyde Walcott, have already crossed over.

These three were instrumental in taking West Indies cricket to new heights. This trio put together a great batting line-up. Not only in West Indies cricket, but they have also become great heroes in world cricket. According to many, Wicks was ahead in batting among the three.

The birth and advancement of these three are strangely tied in a single thread. Within a year and a half in Barbados, the three were born within a two-mile radius. It is said that all three were born to the same midwife! The three made their Test debut in three weeks in 1947.

Weeks was born in 1925 into a very poor family. In Trinidad, her father was earning a meager living by breaking bones. The father was a fan of English football club Everton and named his son after his favorite club. Everton Weeks also played great football, so good that he played for Barbados. But he was more interested in cricket.

Weeks was forced to drop out of school at the age of 14. He was also kicked out of the local club because only whites were allowed to play there. Even after that, he could not be suppressed. Wherever he got the chance, he kept proof of his talent. Learned from the big cricketers as a fielder at Kensington Oval in Barbados. He later joined the Barbados Defense Service and was able to play club cricket.

 

At the age of 19, Wicks got a chance to play first-class cricket, and at the tender age of 23, he got into Test cricket. His start in the Test was not very good. In the first three Tests of the series against England, he was dropped for not being able to make fifty in five innings.

 Photo: Cricket West Indies

But luck brings him back. Wicks got another chance in the last Test of the series due to the injury of another legend George Headley. Ever since he went down to bat at number three in that match in Jamaica, the spectators have been giving him two consecutive wickets. They wanted to see local cricketer John Holt in the XI. But Wicks turned those two into great innings of 141 runs.

Then I did not have to look back. He scored a century in four innings in the next tour of India. That world record of a century in five consecutive innings still survives. He could do six in a row. He was dismissed for 90 in the sixth innings. He has said all his life that the umpire gave him the wrong decision.

Weeks took a total of 12 innings to touch a thousand runs in the Test. That record for the fastest 1,000 runs (jointly with Herbert Sutcliffe) still survives.

Wisden was named Cricketer of the Year after his outstanding performance on the England tour in 1951.

In 1958, the tide came in that extraordinary continuity. He continues to suffer one injury after another, fighting to get the best rhythm. He played great innings of 196 runs in the first Test of the series against Pakistan in 1958, 6 in the second Test. But he was suffering from a thigh injury and finally gave up. He retired at the age of 33.

He has scored 15 centuries and 19 fifties in just 48 Tests. He has scored 4,455 runs at an average of 57.61. Such a rich record is as dazzling as it is awake. If he could play a few more years, maybe his career would be more prosperous!

However, he did not give up cricket even though he gave up international cricket. He played club cricket in England. He has traveled to many countries on behalf of the Commonwealth. He later became very successful in coaching in Barbados. He was also the coach of Canada in the 1989 World Cup. Besides playing bridge, he also earned a great name. He served as an ICC match referee in the 1990s.

Knighthood in 1995, the last of the Three W's. He also left the world after all three of them. Orrell died in 197 at the age of 42. Walcott died in 2006 at the age of 80.

 

The last address of the three may be the same. O'Reilly and Walcott are buried in the Three Ws of Bridgetown. There is a place that has been vacant for many years. His last address maybe next to two teammates. It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post.

Weeks has three sons and one daughter. One son, David Marie, played 19 Tests for the West Indies from 1982 to 1982 as a wicketkeeper-batsman. Marie was great as a keeper.