babel
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# Posted: 26 Aug 2006 17:36
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A cricketing great has passed away. One of the famous 'three W's ' , he averaged over 56 in Tests. I am reproducing an obituary from the BBC. RIP, Sir Clyde.
Former West Indies cricket great Sir Clyde Walcott has died in a Barbados hospital at the age of 80. He became famous in the 1950s as one of the three Ws along with Sir Frank Worrell and Everton Weekes. Walcott scored 3,798 runs in 44 Test appearances at an average of 56.68, including 15 centuries.
He was later manager of the West Indies team which won the 1975 and 1979 World Cup and also had a spell as chairman of the International Cricket Council. His death comes less than two months after that of one of his on-field adversaries, former England fast bowler Fred Trueman. But Trueman was not in the England side when Walcott made his highest Test score of 220 against them at his home ground in Bridgetown in February 1954.
His finest achievement came the following year, however, when he became the first batsman to make five centuries in a single series, totalling 827 runs in five centuries against Australia.
"Clyde had a powerful physique and his batting was based on power and strength. He hit the ball harder than any of us," said Weekes, now the sole survivor of the three Ws, Worrell having died in 1967. "Whenever I batted with him I enjoyed it, and we had some great times together on and off the field."
Lance Gibbs, the most successful spin bowler ever produced by West Indies said of Walcott: "He has been one of our greatest ambassadors. I played against him in Guyana and he was a great batsman. He was a great on-side player and if you bowled short at him he was quite prepared to hook." Gibbs told BBC Sport: "Clyde has always been a dominant individual as far as West Indies cricket is concerned. He will be a great loss indeed."
Vanburn Holder, now a first-class umpire in England, played under Walcott the manager a number of times, including the inaugural World Cup in 1975. "It's very sad. He was very well respected. When he spoke you'd (knew you'd) better listen because he didn't say things twice," said Holder. "He had a lot to do with the beginning of that era when West Indies dominated world cricket."
He added: "I didn't see him play, but judging from what I've heard and read, so many people can't be wrong. You could rely on him, he was so powerful and strong, and he was the one more often not got runs to keep West Indies going.
Among the youngsters who came through under Walcott were fast bowler Michael Holding, Gordon Greenidge and Viv Richards. Holding first toured England in 1976, a series which West Indies won 3-0 after home skipper Tony Greig had vowed to make them "grovel".
He told the Cricinfo website: "On that tour we'd played against Hampshire and I wasn't very happy. I didn't have the best equipment for English conditions, my studs were too short, and I was feeling sorry for myself. Clyde could see this because I was sat at the back of the coach on my own and he just came up and sat down next to me - just to have a chat. After I'd told him the problem he suggested a talk to some of the county pros and find out about how to get some new equipment. That was Clyde, he wouldn't wait for you to ask him, he would approach you and try to help."
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