ST JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – Cricket West Indies has paid tribute to the late West Indies batsman Irvine Shillingford who passed away Thursday in his homeland Dominica.
President Ricky Skerritt hailed Shillingford as one who “pioneered the way for others to follow”, while praising his commitment to the development of the regional game.
“On behalf of CWI I offer my sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of Irving Shillingford,” Skerritt said yesterday.
“He was someone who played in the true spirit of the game and pioneered the way for others to follow. He was also one of cricket’s finest gentlemen, and an astute thinker with a wealth of knowledge.
“[Irvine] was dedicated to the game over six decades as a player and administrator. He worked patiently and tirelessly to make sure Dominica and the Windward Islands featured prominently in the cricket map of the Caribbean.”
Shillingford, the first Dominican to represent West Indies, featured in four Tests and two One-Day Internationals during the 1970s, managing to score a hundred against Pakistan in Georgetown in only his second Test.
He was part of a side led by the peerless Clive Lloyd and which included the likes of Gordon Greenidge, Vivian Richards and Alvin Kallicharan.
On Thursday, Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit labelled Shillingford a “true icon”, and said his career had “embodied the hopes and goals of countless Dominican cricketers who hoped to reach comparable success.”
Following his playing career, Shillingford went on to manage and coach the West Indies Under-19 team, and also served as a selector and coach of the Windward Islands team.
(Sports Editor’s Note:-Irvine Shillingford is not the first Dominican to play for the West Indies. That honour belongs to his cousin, Grayson Shillingford, a right arm fast bowler who toured England with the West Indies in 1969 and played against India in 1971 and against New Zealand in 1972. Irvine Shillingford made his test debut for the West Indies against Pakistan in 1977.)
