Last Wednesday, the life innings of the oldest surviving West Indian Test cricketer, Everton Weekes came to an end. His final tally of ninety-five years, one hundred and twenty-six days, inclusive of a loud appeal for LBW last year June, when he suffered a heart attack, was in keeping with the high scores he regularly plundered during his playing days.
Born into humble circumstances, near the fabled Kensington Oval, in Bridgetown, Barbados, Weekes went on to become a member of the most famous trio in the history of Test cricket, the Three W’s, along with Frank Worrell and Clyde Walcott. Born within a year and a mile of each other, the W’s were the heart and soul of the West Indian sides from the late 1940’s to the late ‘50’s; Worrell third in the order, with Weekes and Walcott following in the fourth and fifth slots, respectively.
In the class conscious Barbadian society of the day, young Weekes was deprived of membership of the whites’ only policy of the Pickwick Club at Kensington, where he assisted the ground staff as a youngster. At the age of 13, Weekes, a prodigy, began appearing for Wiltshire in the village league, before joining the army and becoming a regular member of the Barbados Regiment which played in the leading Island competition.
In 1948, three years after making his debut for Barbados, Weekes and his fellow W’s caught the eyes of the selectors for the home series against England. Weekes was dropped for the Fourth Test in Jamaica following five low scores, and was only later recalled as a replacement for the injured George Headley. A hard hitting knock of 141 cemented his place in the side for the tour of India later that year where his run of form continued.
Weekes reeled off four more centuries in the four innings he batted in the first three Tests, becoming the only player to ever score five consecutive Test centuries. Run out for 90 in the next innings, Weekes would then set the record for consecutive innings of over 50 at seven, a feat since matched by five batsmen. On the 1955/56 tour of New Zealand, Weekes notched another three consecutive centuries.
The diminutive Weekes’ approach to batting was one of total aggression. Bowling attacks were to be dismantled as quickly as possible, and Weekes’ hooking, driving and pulling were executed with enormous power. In the words of the former Australian Captain Richie Benaud, “He was a fierce hooker, puller and square-cutter, but at the same time, a terrific driver.” During the West Indies 1950 Coming of Age Tour of England, when the West Indies served notice to the cricketing world of their rising dominance, Weekes plundered five scores of over 200, including a triple hundred off the Cambridge attack.
When Weekes walked away from Test cricket at the age of 32, he was the leading run scoring in West Indian Test history with 4455 runs in 48 Test matches, including 15 centuries. His average of 58.61, second amongst West Indians, only to Mas’ George Headley’s 60.83, today remains, fifth on the all-time global list of batsmen who have played at least twenty-five Test matches.
Weekes continued to play for Barbados until 1964, as he and his fellow W’s pushed for social change not previously thought possible off the field of play. Whilst Worrell went on to become the first Black Captain of the West Indies on a regular basis (Headley had performed the honours in one Test), Walcott and Weekes, would do likewise for British Guiana and Barbados, respectively.
Following his retirement, Weekes remained committed to the game, serving as a coach, manager and match referee. His wide experience, in depth knowledge and understanding of cricket provided wonderful insights to listeners whenever he appeared as an analyst on radio broadcasts. An avid jazz fan and piano player, he also spent several hours a day, “sometimes five or six” mastering contract bridge and represented Barbados on several occasions at international tournaments. In the latter years, the game of poker had attracted his attention. Sir Ev, as he was affectionately known as in Barbados, had been knighted in 1995 for his services to the game and enjoyed a long and active lifestyle, swimming at six o’clock most mornings and driving himself everywhere until his early 90’s.
The departure of this icon, run out just short of the well-deserved century he had set his sights on, after attaining the age of ninety, further accentuates the need for an official West Indies Hall of Fame, where outstanding players can be inducted during their lifetime.
His passing marks the loss of the third outstanding middle order batsman from the West Indies family in the last thirteen months, following the deaths of Seymour Nurse and Basil Butcher.
Sir Everton de Courcy Weekes will be accorded an official funeral by Barbados and is expected to be laid to rest alongside his fellow knighted W’s , at the Three W’s Oval, at the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies.
As we bid farewell to Sir Everton, we extend our gratitude for his services to the game of cricket in the West Indies.
