Tributes to West Indies great Sir Everton as he dies aged 95
ENGLAND AND the West Indies cricket teams will pay tribute next week to Sir Everton Weekes after his death at the age of 95.
The Bajan, celebrated as one of the finest batsmen the Caribbean has ever produced and one of the famous ‘three Ws’ alongside Sir Clyde Walcott and Sir Frank Worrell, died on Wednesday.
Black armbands were worn by both West Indies and England players in their internal squad matches at Emirates Old Trafford and the Ageas Bowl respectively ahead of next week’s first Test match between the sides.
The West Indies players also held a minute’s silence in their huddle prior to warm-ups on the final day of their game.
The flags at the Manchester ground were flown at half-mast to mark the passing of Weekes, the only man in Test history to record five consecutive tons which he did in his first year of international cricket.
That streak came in 1948, with an innings of 141 against Sir Gubby Allen’s England followed by
knocks of 128, 194, 162 and 101 against India, the last two in the same Test.
He played a total of 48 Tests, scoring 4,455 runs at 58.61 with 15 hundreds. His average is the 10th highest in Test history among batsmen to have played at least 20 innings.
West Indies great Sir Viv Richards saluted Weekes as the cricket
world acknowledged the contribution of a major figure in the game.
Richards said on Twitter: “Can’t believe the legendary Sir Everton Weekes is no more.”
Former England captain Mike Atherton wrote: “Very sad to learn of the passing of Sir Everton Weekes. A humble man who wore his greatness lightly.”