It’s a century for Sir Frank

As world cricket today celebrates the birth centenary of leader of leaders Worrell, the great West Indian’s connection with India ran deep before he passed away at the age of 42 in 1967

With entertainment occupying prime space in world cricket’s present canvas, it’s never a bad idea to acknowledge the fathers of this particular aspect in the willow game.

Today marks the birth centenary of one of them—Sir Frank Worrell, whom the late Australian cricket historian Jack Egan called a saint and the Nelson Mandela of cricket.

Worrell was one part of the captaincy pair which helped foster attractive play when Test cricket—at least in Australia—was marred by boring draws towards the end of the 1950s.

Of course, the man who stressed on the need to entertain was batting legend Sir Don Bradman, then a key functionary of the Australian Cricket Board. Worrell was captain of the West Indies team undertaking their third Test tour to Australia, who were led by Richie Benaud. Both captains agreed with Bradman’s view and what emerged was one of the most engrossing Test series of all time; Australia winning 2-1, with the opening Test ending in a tie at Brisbane. Worrell, born on August 1, 1924, in Barbados, however, did more than just play a key role in entertaining  spectators. He embodied fine leadership, infused the right kind of spirit in his team as West Indies’s first regular black captain, played the role of a great diplomat and contributed to society, before he was taken away by blood cancer at 42 in 1967. Above all, he was just the unifying spirit the West Indies needed to be world champions.

Worrell has a strong connection with India. Apart from being part of two Test series in the Caribbean against the Indians in 1952-53 and 1961-62, Worrell made three tours here with the Commonwealth XI—1949-50, 1950-51 and 1953-54.  The 1952-53 series involved Worrell’s fellow Ws, Everton Weekes and Clyde Walcott.

In the 1949-50 unofficial Test at Kanpur, Worrell scored 223 for the Commonwealth XI and rated his six-hour effort on coir matting as his greatest innings.

So, Indian cricket lovers had a good look at Worrell’s silken batting and effective left-arm spin. He left a fine impression on his opponents as well. Chandrakant Patankar, the former wicketkeeper, who at 93 is India’s second oldest living player, remembered playing for the Cricket Club of India against the Commonwealth XI at the Brabourne Stadium in October 1953. During the course of Worrell’s 76 in the first innings, he hit leg-spinner Avinash Desai for three consecutive sixes, the third one landing in radio commentator Anant Setalvad’s hands on the top floor of the CCI pavilion. Worrell enjoyed a cordial relationship with Indian cricketers. Dilip Wagle, a South Mumbai-based die-hard cricket fan, who passed away recently, never tired of mentioning how Worrell used to visit great all-rounder Vinoo Mankad regularly at his modest Pannalal Terrace residence on Grant Road during his Commonwealth XI tours. Worrell touched down in India even in his post-playing days as a dignitary of the University of West Indies.

He happened to be in Kolkata when Day Two of the second Test in the 1966-67 series was lost due to riots over the sale of tickets. The players feared for their safety and some of them wanted to go home.

Worrell pointed out to the team that touring teams also had to cope with the common occurrences of riots on West Indian grounds and suggested that any decision to abandon the tour would not bode well for teams coming to the Caribbean. The game resumed and West Indies ended up winning the Test match by an innings and 45 runs and, with it, the series. 

There were times when Worrell was happy to caution players about their safety. For example, before the touring Indian team took on Barbados in a tour game on the 1961-62 tour, Worrell brought to opposition captain Nari Contractor’s attention a young fast bowler called Charlie Griffith, who was dangerous. Worrell advised Contractor that his batsmen were better off getting dismissed rather than being injured by Griffith, whose action was suspicious. As it turned out, Contractor was hit on the head by Griffith in that game and was lost to Test cricket. Moreover, Worrell was one of the cricket personalities who donated blood for 
Contractor’s operation.

Several players were fortunate to be mentored by Worrell. Garry Sobers, the most famous of all all-rounders, was one of them. “He [Worrell] had encouraged me when I was low, advised me when I was bewildered, blasted me when he felt I was getting a bit too big for my cricket boots. Always, he was there, with a well-timed word, when I needed him,” Sobers wrote in King Cricket.

Several books do justice to Worrell’s contribution to cricket. Cricket Punch and Ernest Eytle’s book were made available to Indian readers by Rupa & Co. Vaneisa Baksh’s extensively researched 2023 book, Son of Grace, provides a very fine account of the man and his influence. Baksh found out that Worrell even spent three hours chatting with students of St Xavier’s College on January 11, 1967.  Milind Rege, the former Mumbai captain, recalled being in that hall and how Worrell stressed on the virtues of education and the importance of gathering knowledge in order to become a better person.

A little over two months later, Worrell was lost to the world. World cricket mourned the immeasurable loss then, but today, the century of his birth must be celebrated with all gestures noble.

mid-day’s group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stance. He tweets @ClaytonMurzello

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