Conrad Hunte
Encyclopedia
Sir Conrad Cleophas Hunte, KA
(9 May 1932 – 3 December 1999) was a Barbadian
cricket
er. Hunte played 44 Test match
es as an opening batsman for the West Indies.
in the north of Barbados, the son of a sugar plantation worker. Hunte's family was poor; one of nine children, Hunte grew up in a one room house. By the time Hunte was six-years-old he was playing cricket with the village boys, using an improvised bat made from palm fronds. Hunte's father was determined that Hunte would receive a good education and so Hunte was required to walk—barefoot—each day the three miles to Belleplaine Boys School. Hunte showed the first glimpses of his talent, making the school First XI aged 10 where he played with and against boys much bigger and older than himself.
Hunte, aged 12, won a scholarship to attend Alleyne Secondary School. His talent was soon noted by the school gamesmaster who placed him straight into the school First XI where played against boys aged up to 18. As an incentive the gamesmaster offered Hunte a shilling
every time he made 25 runs. Hunte captained the school team in his last three years. In his final year at school Hunte was asked to play for a new club, the Belleplaine Sports and Social Club. Belleplaine played in the Northern section of the Barbados Cricket League (BCL), which provided organised cricket for poor and rural Barbadians. In 1950 Hunte made the BCL representative team for its annual match against the elite (and socially exclusive) Barbados Cricket Association
team. Dropped early in his innings by Test player Denis Atkinson
, Hunte went on to make 137—the first BCL player to make a century
in this annual fixture.
Soon after this match Hunte was selected to make his first-class cricket
debut for Barbados against Trinidad and Tobago
at Kensington Oval
in Bridgetown. Hunte scored 63 runs in the first innings and followed this with 15 in the second. Hunte was also offered a place with the elite Empire Cricket Club
in Division 1 of the Barbados Cricket Association, the home club of his sporting idol Everton Weekes
. There was little first-class cricket in the West Indies at the time and Hunte's cricket career was slow to progress. He worked for a time as a school teacher at St. Simon's Mixed School, the Barbados Civil Service
as an Accounts Clerk and later in life insurance. Hunte failed to take his opportunity against the visiting Australians in 1954–55, scoring a duck
and three. It was the following season when Hunte finally showed his ability on a larger stage, scoring 151 and 95 in two matches against a touring team from England managed by E. W. Swanton
.
In 1956 Hunte moved to England, in order to study Economics and also looking for a professional contract in English league cricket. He worked at a bus plant and cotton mill in Lancashire before being picked up by Leyland Motors Cricket Club in the Northern League. The next year Hunte was contracted by Enfield Cricket Club
in the Lancashire League. The relationship between Hunte and Enfield was a happy one; unlike most professionals who tended to wander, Hunte stayed at the club for six seasons. In 1959, Hunte set a club record for the most runs scored in a season.
When Hunte moved to England, he had advised the selectors
of the West Indies team that he was available to tour England in 1957
should he be chosen. While waiting for an invitation for the tour, Hunte considered and rejected attempting to become eligible for selection for Kent County Cricket Club
in the English County Championship
. When no invitation was forthcoming Hunte signed to play with Enfield. Later Hunte was told that the West Indies Cricket Board
(WICB) had sent him a letter, which failed to reach him in Lancashire. After he signed with Enfield received a note from a WICB board member, urging him to state if he wished to be considered for selection. Hunte replied that he was, provided Enfield would agree to release him from his contract. When the squad for the tour was released, Hunte's name was missing. The West Indies soon regretted overlooking Hunte. The two batsman selected ahead of him—Nyron Asgarali
and Andy Ganteaume
—did not meet with much success in the Test matches.
at his home ground of Kensington Oval
. He hit the first two balls that he faced, from Fazal Mahmood
, for fours
and made 142 runs in his first innings. In the third Test of the same series he made 260, including a partnership of 446 with Garfield Sobers
which was then the second-highest partnership in history and is the sixth highest — Sobers went on to make a then world-record 365 not out
as the West Indies reached 790 for 3 declared
. In the fourth Test of the series, Hunte made another century
. He finished his debut series with 622 runs at an average
of 77.75, and the West Indies won the series 3-1.
After this successful start, Hunte was the West Indies' regular opening batsman for the next nine years, and vice captain of the team for eight of them. This was a successful period for the West Indies, in which they won seven of the ten series in which he played.
Hunte played a major role in West Indies' series win in England in 1963. He curbed his aggressive instincts as a batsman in order to build a solid platform for the innings. This was rewarded with two crucial centuries. He scored 182 in the first innings of the summer as West Indies won by 10 wicket
s. Then in the final Test of the summer, the West Indies needed to avoid losing to win the series. They were set 253 to win in the fourth innings, at that time regarded as a difficult target, with over two days to play. But Hunte scored 108 not out as the West Indies won by eight wickets, and won the series 3-1. Hunte finished the series with a batting average of 58.87, and was chosen as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1964.
After the tour to England, the captain of the West Indies, Frank Worrell
, retired. Hunte expected to be appointed captain in his place, and when Garfield Sobers was chosen instead, he was bitterly disappointed, and for six weeks considered resigning himself. But he chose to continue playing, and in the next series, against Australia
in 1965, he scored 550 runs, although without a century: he scored six fifties in ten innings, with a highest score of 89 and an average of 61.11. This was the record for the highest series aggregate without a century until Mike Atherton
scored 553 in a six-Test series against Australia in 1993.
In total, Hunte played in 44 Tests
between 1958 and 1967. Despite having 13 different opening partners in his Test career, he accumulated 3245 runs at an average of 45.06. He scored eight centuries, including at least one against every country he played against.
. The defining experience of his life was when in 1961, on the West Indies' tour of Australia
, he saw the film The Crowning Experience, about the life of the black American educator, Mary McLeod Bethune
. This film was promoted by Moral Re-Armament
(MRA), a multi-faith organisation promoting absolute moral and ethical standards of behaviour, to which Hunte committed the remainder of his life.
Hunte made no secret of his beliefs. Some reports suggest that the other members of the West Indies team became tired of his constantly expressing them in the dressing room, and that this contributed to his not being awarded the captaincy in 1963.
Hunte retired from cricket in 1967, although he could possibly have continued for some more years, in order to work full time for MRA, promoting harmonious race relations. He wrote his autobiography, entitled Playing to Win, in 1971. After several years in Britain
, he moved to Atlanta, Georgia
, to help with the racial situation there. It was there that he met his wife Patricia, a local newscaster, with whom he had three daughters.
In 1991, as apartheid was coming to an end in South Africa
, Hunte rang the director of the new United Cricket Board of South Africa, Ali Bacher
, and offered to help develop cricket in the black townships
and promote reconciliation between the races. He worked as National Development Coach, funded by the MCC
, for seven years. In 1998 Hunte was conferred the highest honour in Barbados; he was made a Knight of St. Andrew
(KA) of the Order of Barbados
.
In 1999, with encouragement from the government of Barbados, he returned to the island of his birth. He was elected to the presidency of the Barbados Cricket Association
, with plans to revive cricket in the country, but he died two months later, while in Australia to speak at a conference of the MRA.
Knight or Dame of St. Andrew (Barbados)
The Knight or Dame of St. Andrew is an award within the Order of Barbados.The Order of Barbados was instituted by Letters Patent on July 25, 1980, as part of the Barbados National Honours and Decorations System. The Knight or Dame of St...
(9 May 1932 – 3 December 1999) was a Barbadian
Barbadian
Barbadian may refer to anything of or relating to Barbados and may also refer directly to:* Barbadian football* Barbadian cuisine* Barbadian dollar, a currency used in Barbados ISO 4217 code "BBD"....
cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er. Hunte played 44 Test match
Test match
Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to:* Test cricket* Test match * Test match * Test match...
es as an opening batsman for the West Indies.
Early life and career
Hunte was born in rural St Andrew ParishSaint Andrew Parish, Barbados
Saint Andrew is one of eleven parishes of Barbados. It is situated is the northern area in the country.Saint Andrew is one of the more unspoiled parts of the island owing to its physical makeup of green rolling hills...
in the north of Barbados, the son of a sugar plantation worker. Hunte's family was poor; one of nine children, Hunte grew up in a one room house. By the time Hunte was six-years-old he was playing cricket with the village boys, using an improvised bat made from palm fronds. Hunte's father was determined that Hunte would receive a good education and so Hunte was required to walk—barefoot—each day the three miles to Belleplaine Boys School. Hunte showed the first glimpses of his talent, making the school First XI aged 10 where he played with and against boys much bigger and older than himself.
Hunte, aged 12, won a scholarship to attend Alleyne Secondary School. His talent was soon noted by the school gamesmaster who placed him straight into the school First XI where played against boys aged up to 18. As an incentive the gamesmaster offered Hunte a shilling
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
every time he made 25 runs. Hunte captained the school team in his last three years. In his final year at school Hunte was asked to play for a new club, the Belleplaine Sports and Social Club. Belleplaine played in the Northern section of the Barbados Cricket League (BCL), which provided organised cricket for poor and rural Barbadians. In 1950 Hunte made the BCL representative team for its annual match against the elite (and socially exclusive) Barbados Cricket Association
Barbados Cricket Association
The Barbados Cricket Association is the ruling body for cricket in Barbados. The BCA was sstablished in 1933 by an Act of Parliament to replace the Barbados Cricket Challenge Cup Committee, which had administered Barbadian cricket since its formation in 1892...
team. Dropped early in his innings by Test player Denis Atkinson
Denis Atkinson
Denis St Eval Atkinson was a West Indian cricketer who played 22 Test matches as an all-rounder, hitting 922 runs and taking 47 wickets. He also played first-class cricket for Barbados and Trinidad...
, Hunte went on to make 137—the first BCL player to make a century
Century (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a batsman reaches his century when he scores 100 or more runs in a single innings. The term is also included in "century partnership" which occurs when two batsmen add 100 runs to the team total when they are batting together. A century is regarded as a landmark score for...
in this annual fixture.
Soon after this match Hunte was selected to make his first-class cricket
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
debut for Barbados against Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago cricket team
The Trinidad and Tobago cricket team is the representative cricket team of the country of Trinidad and Tobago.The team takes part in inter-regional cricket competitions in the Caribbean, such as the Regional Four Day Competition and the WICB Cup, with the best players selected for the West Indies...
at Kensington Oval
Kensington Oval
The Kensington Oval is located to the west of the capital-city Bridgetown on the island of Barbados. "The Oval" is one of the major sporting facilities on the island and is primarily used for cricket...
in Bridgetown. Hunte scored 63 runs in the first innings and followed this with 15 in the second. Hunte was also offered a place with the elite Empire Cricket Club
Empire Cricket Club
Empire Cricket Club is a cricket club in Barbados. The club plays in Barbados Cricket Association Division 1 championship. The club was formed on 24 May 1914—Empire Day—from which it took its name. The club was formed by disaffected members of Spartan Cricket Club...
in Division 1 of the Barbados Cricket Association, the home club of his sporting idol Everton Weekes
Everton Weekes
Sir Everton DeCourcy Weekes, KCMG, GCM, OBE is a leading former West Indian cricketer. Along with Frank Worrell and Clyde Walcott, he formed what was known as "The Three Ws" of West Indian cricket.-Youth and early career:...
. There was little first-class cricket in the West Indies at the time and Hunte's cricket career was slow to progress. He worked for a time as a school teacher at St. Simon's Mixed School, the Barbados Civil Service
Civil service
The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....
as an Accounts Clerk and later in life insurance. Hunte failed to take his opportunity against the visiting Australians in 1954–55, scoring a duck
Duck (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a duck refers to a batsman's dismissal for a score of zero.-Origin of the term:The term is a shortening of the term "duck's egg", the latter being used long before Test cricket began...
and three. It was the following season when Hunte finally showed his ability on a larger stage, scoring 151 and 95 in two matches against a touring team from England managed by E. W. Swanton
E. W. Swanton
Ernest William Swanton CBE is chiefly known for being a cricket writer and commentator under his initials, E. W. Swanton. He worked as a sports journalist for The Daily Telegraph and as a broadcaster for BBC Radio for 30 years. He was a regular commentator on Test Match Special, easily recognised...
.
In 1956 Hunte moved to England, in order to study Economics and also looking for a professional contract in English league cricket. He worked at a bus plant and cotton mill in Lancashire before being picked up by Leyland Motors Cricket Club in the Northern League. The next year Hunte was contracted by Enfield Cricket Club
Enfield Cricket Club
Enfield Cricket Club is a cricket club in the Lancashire League, which plays its home games at Dill Hall Lane in Accrington. For the 2011 season its captain is Adam Bracewell, and its professional is Werner Coetsee of South Africa. The club has won the league on 5 occasions and the cup on 4...
in the Lancashire League. The relationship between Hunte and Enfield was a happy one; unlike most professionals who tended to wander, Hunte stayed at the club for six seasons. In 1959, Hunte set a club record for the most runs scored in a season.
When Hunte moved to England, he had advised the selectors
Selector (sport)
In many team sports, a selection panel consist of selectors who choose teams or individuals to represent a country or club in sporting competitions.Selectors tend to be past players....
of the West Indies team that he was available to tour England in 1957
West Indian cricket team in England in 1957
The West Indies cricket team toured England in the 1957 season to play a five-match Test series against England.England won the series 3-0 with two matches drawn...
should he be chosen. While waiting for an invitation for the tour, Hunte considered and rejected attempting to become eligible for selection for Kent County Cricket Club
Kent County Cricket Club
Kent County Cricket Club is one of the 18 first class county county cricket clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the county of Kent...
in the English County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
. When no invitation was forthcoming Hunte signed to play with Enfield. Later Hunte was told that the West Indies Cricket Board
West Indies Cricket Board
The West Indies Cricket Board is the governing body for professional and amateur cricket in the West Indies...
(WICB) had sent him a letter, which failed to reach him in Lancashire. After he signed with Enfield received a note from a WICB board member, urging him to state if he wished to be considered for selection. Hunte replied that he was, provided Enfield would agree to release him from his contract. When the squad for the tour was released, Hunte's name was missing. The West Indies soon regretted overlooking Hunte. The two batsman selected ahead of him—Nyron Asgarali
Nyron Asgarali
Nyron Sultan Asgarali was a former West Indian cricketer who played in two Tests in 1957....
and Andy Ganteaume
Andy Ganteaume
Andrew Gordon Ganteaume is a West Indian former cricketer who played as an opening batsman and occasional wicketkeeper. He was born in Belmont, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago...
—did not meet with much success in the Test matches.
Playing career
Hunte did make his Test debut the following winter against PakistanPakistani cricket team
The Pakistan cricket team is the national cricket team of Pakistan. Pakistan, represented by the Pakistan Cricket Board , is a full member of the International Cricket Council, and thus participates in , and cricket matches....
at his home ground of Kensington Oval
Kensington Oval
The Kensington Oval is located to the west of the capital-city Bridgetown on the island of Barbados. "The Oval" is one of the major sporting facilities on the island and is primarily used for cricket...
. He hit the first two balls that he faced, from Fazal Mahmood
Fazal Mahmood
Fazal Mahmood was a Pakistani cricketer, regarded as the finest pace bowler of his country's early years. He played in 34 Test matches and took 139 wickets at a bowling average of 24.70...
, for fours
Boundary (cricket)
Boundary has two distinct meanings in the sport of cricket:# the edge or boundary of the playing field, and# a manner of scoring runs.-Edge of the field:...
and made 142 runs in his first innings. In the third Test of the same series he made 260, including a partnership of 446 with Garfield Sobers
Garfield Sobers
Sir Garfield St Aubrun Sobers AO, OCC is a former cricketer who captained West Indies. His first name of Garfield is variously abbreviated as Gary or Garry. He is widely regarded as one of cricket's greatest ever all-rounders, having excelled at all the essential skills of batting, bowling and...
which was then the second-highest partnership in history and is the sixth highest — Sobers went on to make a then world-record 365 not out
Not out
In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress...
as the West Indies reached 790 for 3 declared
Declaration and forfeiture
In the sport of cricket a declaration occurs when a captain declares his team's innings closed and a forfeiture is when a captain chooses to forfeit an innings. Declaration and forfeiture are covered in Law 14 of the Laws of cricket...
. In the fourth Test of the series, Hunte made another century
Century (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a batsman reaches his century when he scores 100 or more runs in a single innings. The term is also included in "century partnership" which occurs when two batsmen add 100 runs to the team total when they are batting together. A century is regarded as a landmark score for...
. He finished his debut series with 622 runs at an average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
of 77.75, and the West Indies won the series 3-1.
After this successful start, Hunte was the West Indies' regular opening batsman for the next nine years, and vice captain of the team for eight of them. This was a successful period for the West Indies, in which they won seven of the ten series in which he played.
Hunte played a major role in West Indies' series win in England in 1963. He curbed his aggressive instincts as a batsman in order to build a solid platform for the innings. This was rewarded with two crucial centuries. He scored 182 in the first innings of the summer as West Indies won by 10 wicket
Wicket
In the sport of cricket the word wicket has several distinct meanings:-Definitions of wicket:Most of the time, the wicket is one of the two sets of three stumps and two bails at either end of the pitch...
s. Then in the final Test of the summer, the West Indies needed to avoid losing to win the series. They were set 253 to win in the fourth innings, at that time regarded as a difficult target, with over two days to play. But Hunte scored 108 not out as the West Indies won by eight wickets, and won the series 3-1. Hunte finished the series with a batting average of 58.87, and was chosen as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1964.
Frank Worrell
Sir Frank Mortimer Maglinne Worrell is sometimes referred to by his nickname of Tae and was a West Indies cricketer and Jamaican senator...
, retired. Hunte expected to be appointed captain in his place, and when Garfield Sobers was chosen instead, he was bitterly disappointed, and for six weeks considered resigning himself. But he chose to continue playing, and in the next series, against Australia
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
in 1965, he scored 550 runs, although without a century: he scored six fifties in ten innings, with a highest score of 89 and an average of 61.11. This was the record for the highest series aggregate without a century until Mike Atherton
Mike Atherton
Michael Andrew Atherton OBE is a broadcaster, journalist and retired England international cricketer. A right-handed opening batsman for Lancashire and England,and occasional leg-break bowler, he achieved the captaincy of England at the age of 25 and led the side in a record 54 Test matches...
scored 553 in a six-Test series against Australia in 1993.
In total, Hunte played in 44 Tests
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
between 1958 and 1967. Despite having 13 different opening partners in his Test career, he accumulated 3245 runs at an average of 45.06. He scored eight centuries, including at least one against every country he played against.
Life after cricket
Hunte was a committed ChristianChristian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
. The defining experience of his life was when in 1961, on the West Indies' tour of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, he saw the film The Crowning Experience, about the life of the black American educator, Mary McLeod Bethune
Mary McLeod Bethune
Mary Jane McLeod Bethune was an American educator and civil rights leader best known for starting a school for African American students in Daytona Beach, Florida, that eventually became Bethune-Cookman University and for being an advisor to President Franklin D...
. This film was promoted by Moral Re-Armament
Moral Re-Armament
Moral Re-Armament was an international Christian moral and spiritual movement that, in 1938, developed from the American minister Frank Buchman's Oxford Group. Buchman, a Lutheran, headed MRA for 23 years, from 1938 until his death in 1961...
(MRA), a multi-faith organisation promoting absolute moral and ethical standards of behaviour, to which Hunte committed the remainder of his life.
Hunte made no secret of his beliefs. Some reports suggest that the other members of the West Indies team became tired of his constantly expressing them in the dressing room, and that this contributed to his not being awarded the captaincy in 1963.
Hunte retired from cricket in 1967, although he could possibly have continued for some more years, in order to work full time for MRA, promoting harmonious race relations. He wrote his autobiography, entitled Playing to Win, in 1971. After several years in Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, he moved to Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, to help with the racial situation there. It was there that he met his wife Patricia, a local newscaster, with whom he had three daughters.
In 1991, as apartheid was coming to an end in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Hunte rang the director of the new United Cricket Board of South Africa, Ali Bacher
Ali Bacher
Aron "Ali" Bacher is a former South African Test cricketer and an administrator of the United Cricket Board of South Africa.-Biography:...
, and offered to help develop cricket in the black townships
Township (South Africa)
In South Africa, the term township and location usually refers to the urban living areas that, from the late 19th century until the end of Apartheid, were reserved for non-whites . Townships were usually built on the periphery of towns and cities...
and promote reconciliation between the races. He worked as National Development Coach, funded by the MCC
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
, for seven years. In 1998 Hunte was conferred the highest honour in Barbados; he was made a Knight of St. Andrew
Knight or Dame of St. Andrew (Barbados)
The Knight or Dame of St. Andrew is an award within the Order of Barbados.The Order of Barbados was instituted by Letters Patent on July 25, 1980, as part of the Barbados National Honours and Decorations System. The Knight or Dame of St...
(KA) of the Order of Barbados
Order of Barbados
The Order of Barbados is part of the National honours system awarded by the government of Barbados, and presented by the Viceroy, which is the Governor-General of Barbados. It comprises four classes, two of which are awarded in two grades. It was instituted under Royal letters patent of Queen...
.
In 1999, with encouragement from the government of Barbados, he returned to the island of his birth. He was elected to the presidency of the Barbados Cricket Association
Barbados Cricket Association
The Barbados Cricket Association is the ruling body for cricket in Barbados. The BCA was sstablished in 1933 by an Act of Parliament to replace the Barbados Cricket Challenge Cup Committee, which had administered Barbadian cricket since its formation in 1892...
, with plans to revive cricket in the country, but he died two months later, while in Australia to speak at a conference of the MRA.