Frank Worrell
Encyclopedia
Sir Frank Mortimer Maglinne Worrell (1 August 1924, Bank Hall, St Michael, Barbados
– 13 March 1967, Kingston, Jamaica
) is sometimes referred to by his nickname of Tae and was a West Indies cricketer and Jamaican senator. A stylish right-handed batsman and useful left-arm seam bowler
, he became famous in the 1950s as the first black captain of the West Indies cricket team, and is the only batsman to have been involved in two 500-run partnerships
in first-class cricket
.
.
As a player for West Indies
, Worrell made his debut in 1947–48 versus the England team
of Gubby Allen
. Following this series he took up residence in Lancashire, England to play for Radcliffe in the Lancashire League and to read economics at Manchester University. He made his highest Test score of 261 against England at Trent Bridge
in 1950, and was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year for 1951.
Following a successful campaign led by C. L. R. James
, then editor of The Nation in Trinidad, the period of white Test captaincy
in the West Indies came to an end. Worrell became the first black cricketer to captain the West Indies cricket team for an entire series, thus breaking the colour barriers then found in West Indian cricket. He led the side on two particularly notable tours. The first was to Australia in 1960–61
. Both Worrell and his opposing captain, Richie Benaud
, encouraged their teams to play attacking cricket. The first Test of the series ended in a dramatic tie. Though West Indies lost the series 2-1, with one draw in addition to the tie, they took much credit for contributing to the series. Such was their performance and conduct on Australian soil that they were given a large ticker-tape parade in Australia at the end of their tour. On 3 February, 1962, Nari Contractor
, the captain of the touring Indian team, received a career-ending head injury from a bouncer bowled by West Indies fast bowler Charlie Griffith
. Worrell was the first player from both sides to donate blood to the injured Contractor, which saved his life. In remembrance of this act, the Cricket Association of Bengal
organises a blood donation drive on this day every year and the day is commemorated as Sir Frank Worrell Day in the state of West Bengal
in India. In 2009, the Sir Frank Worrell Memorial Committee, which was founded in 2007 to mark the 40th Anniversary of his death (which coincided with the opening match - West Indies vs Pakistan, Sabina Park, Jamaica - of the ICC Cricket World Cup in the West Indies), began the Sir Frank Worrell Memorial Blood Drive in Trinidad and Tobago
, which was inaugurated by the 74-year old Contractor. In 1963, West Indies toured England. They were again popular, and this time they also won the series, 3-1.
Worrell retired after the West Indies-England series. When he left professional cricket, he became Warden of Irvine Hall at the University of the West Indies
, and was appointed to the Jamaican Senate by Sir Alexander Bustamante
. He strongly supported a closer political union between the nations of the Caribbean. He was knighted
for his services to cricket in 1964.
Worrell managed the West Indies during the 1964–65 visit by Australia, and accompanied the team to India in the winter of 1966–67. It was while in India that he was diagnosed with leukaemia
. He died at the age of 42, a month after returning to Jamaica. A memorial service was held in his honour in Westminster Abbey
, the first time such an honour was granted to a sportsman.
Since the 1960–61 series, the Frank Worrell Trophy
is awarded to the winner of the Test series between Australia and West Indies.One of the two Halls of Residence at the University of the West Indies
, Cave Hill Campus in Barbados is named after him.
Caribbean journalist Ernest Eytle (born Guyana 1918) wrote a biography of Worrell entitled Frank Worrell: The Career of a Great Cricketer in 1963.
In June 1988 Worrell was celebrated on the $2 Barbadian stamp alongside the Barbados Cricket Buckle
.
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
– 13 March 1967, Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
) is sometimes referred to by his nickname of Tae and was a West Indies cricketer and Jamaican senator. A stylish right-handed batsman and useful left-arm seam bowler
Seam bowling
Seam bowling is a phrase used for a bowling technique in cricket whereby the ball is deliberately bowled on to its seam, to cause a random deviation. Practitioners are known as seam bowlers or seamers....
, he became famous in the 1950s as the first black captain of the West Indies cricket team, and is the only batsman to have been involved in two 500-run partnerships
Partnership (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, two batsmen always bat in partnership, although only one is on strike at any time. The partnership between two batsmen will come to an end when one of them is dismissed or retires, or the innings comes to a close In the sport of cricket, two batsmen always bat in...
in 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...
.
Career
By 1947 his mother had moved to New York and his father was away at sea most of the time so he moved to JamaicaJamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
.
As a player for West Indies
West Indian cricket team
The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as the West Indies or the Windies, is a multi-national cricket team representing a sporting confederation of 15 mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries, British dependencies and non-British dependencies.From the mid 1970s to the early 1990s,...
, Worrell made his debut in 1947–48 versus the England team
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
of Gubby Allen
Gubby Allen
Sir George Oswald Browning "Gubby" Allen, CBE was a cricketer who played for Middlesex, Cambridge University, MCC and England. Australian-born, Allen was a fast bowler and hard-hitting lower-order batsman, who captained England in eleven Test matches...
. Following this series he took up residence in Lancashire, England to play for Radcliffe in the Lancashire League and to read economics at Manchester University. He made his highest Test score of 261 against England at Trent Bridge
Trent Bridge
Trent Bridge is a Test, One-day international and County cricket ground located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England and is also the headquarters of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club. As well as International cricket and Nottinghamshire's home games, the ground has hosted the Finals Day of...
in 1950, and was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year for 1951.
Following a successful campaign led by C. L. R. James
C. L. R. James
Cyril Lionel Robert James , who sometimes wrote under the pen-name J.R. Johnson, was an Afro-Trinidadian historian, journalist, socialist theorist and essayist. His works are influential in various theoretical, social, and historiographical contexts...
, then editor of The Nation in Trinidad, the period of white Test captaincy
Development of the Test captaincy of West Indies
This is a chronological list of defining events in the Development of the Test captaincy of the West Indies cricket team.-1920s:January 1928...
in the West Indies came to an end. Worrell became the first black cricketer to captain the West Indies cricket team for an entire series, thus breaking the colour barriers then found in West Indian cricket. He led the side on two particularly notable tours. The first was to Australia in 1960–61
West Indian cricket team in Australia in 1960-61
The West Indies cricket team toured Australia in the 1960-61 season under the captaincy of Frank Worrell. Both Worrell and his opposing captain, Richie Benaud, encouraged their teams to play attacking cricket. The first Test of the five match series ended in a dramatic tie, the first of only two...
. Both Worrell and his opposing captain, Richie Benaud
Richie Benaud
Richard "Richie" Benaud OBE is a former Australian cricketer who, since his retirement from international cricket in 1964, has become a highly regarded commentator on the game....
, encouraged their teams to play attacking cricket. The first Test of the series ended in a dramatic tie. Though West Indies lost the series 2-1, with one draw in addition to the tie, they took much credit for contributing to the series. Such was their performance and conduct on Australian soil that they were given a large ticker-tape parade in Australia at the end of their tour. On 3 February, 1962, Nari Contractor
Nari Contractor
Nariman Jamshedji "Nari" Contractor is a former cricket player. He was left-handed opening batsman whose international career was ended abruptly by a serious injury....
, the captain of the touring Indian team, received a career-ending head injury from a bouncer bowled by West Indies fast bowler Charlie Griffith
Charlie Griffith
Charles Christopher Griffith is a former West Indian cricketer who played in 28 Tests from 1960 to 1969. He formed a lethal fast bowling partnership with Wes Hall during the 1960s...
. Worrell was the first player from both sides to donate blood to the injured Contractor, which saved his life. In remembrance of this act, the Cricket Association of Bengal
Cricket Association of Bengal
The Cricket Association of Bengal is the governing body for cricket in West Bengal. Its headquarters is located in the famous Eden Gardens stadium...
organises a blood donation drive on this day every year and the day is commemorated as Sir Frank Worrell Day in the state of West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
in India. In 2009, the Sir Frank Worrell Memorial Committee, which was founded in 2007 to mark the 40th Anniversary of his death (which coincided with the opening match - West Indies vs Pakistan, Sabina Park, Jamaica - of the ICC Cricket World Cup in the West Indies), began the Sir Frank Worrell Memorial Blood Drive in Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
, which was inaugurated by the 74-year old Contractor. In 1963, West Indies toured England. They were again popular, and this time they also won the series, 3-1.
Worrell retired after the West Indies-England series. When he left professional cricket, he became Warden of Irvine Hall at the University of the West Indies
University of the West Indies
The University of the West Indies , is an autonomous regional institution supported by and serving 17 English-speaking countries and territories in the Caribbean: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Dominica,...
, and was appointed to the Jamaican Senate by Sir Alexander Bustamante
Alexander Bustamante
Sir William Alexander Clarke Bustamante GBE, National Hero of Jamaica was a Jamaican politician and labour leader....
. He strongly supported a closer political union between the nations of the Caribbean. He was knighted
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
for his services to cricket in 1964.
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
. He died at the age of 42, a month after returning to Jamaica. A memorial service was held in his honour in Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
, the first time such an honour was granted to a sportsman.
Since the 1960–61 series, the Frank Worrell Trophy
Frank Worrell Trophy
The Frank Worrell Trophy is awarded for the winner of the West Indies - Australia Test match series in cricket.The trophy is named after the former West Indies captain Sir Frank Worrell, and was first awarded at the end of the 1960-61 series...
is awarded to the winner of the Test series between Australia and West Indies.One of the two Halls of Residence at the University of the West Indies
University of the West Indies
The University of the West Indies , is an autonomous regional institution supported by and serving 17 English-speaking countries and territories in the Caribbean: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Dominica,...
, Cave Hill Campus in Barbados is named after him.
Caribbean journalist Ernest Eytle (born Guyana 1918) wrote a biography of Worrell entitled Frank Worrell: The Career of a Great Cricketer in 1963.
In June 1988 Worrell was celebrated on the $2 Barbadian stamp alongside the Barbados Cricket Buckle
Barbados Cricket Buckle
The Barbados Cricket Buckle is a repoussé engraving on a belt buckle of a slave playing cricket in Barbados circa 1780-1810.It is believed to be the only known image of a slave playing cricket and the oldest known image depicting cricket outside the British Isles."That the belt buckle depicts the...
.
See also
- Development of the Test captaincy of West IndiesDevelopment of the Test captaincy of West IndiesThis is a chronological list of defining events in the Development of the Test captaincy of the West Indies cricket team.-1920s:January 1928...