Giant in his own right

AT ONE time in his career he had smashed 12 centuries in 12 successive Tests. His prolificity with the willow was as consistent as his treatment of the bowlers was ruthless. He was one of the most intimidating sights in cricket when in full flow. He was a giant in his own right and the trio he formed with two others had caused nightmares to many bowlers for a shade above a decade. Meet Clyde Leopold Walcott, who turns 75 on January 17.

The West Indies may have been going through a critical phase for the last several years; but no one can ignore the glorious past of this cricket nation which is formed by the magnificent Caribbean islands. It was Frank Worrell, Everton Weekes and, of course, Walcott who played a pivotal role in giving the West Indies an awe-inspiring status after World War II. They came to be known as the Three Ws and the world literally lay at their feet.

Frank Worrell, Everton Weekes and Clyde Walcott were to become unique in cricket, not only in West Indian cricket, as the only occasion on which one side has produced simultaneously three players, each acknowledged as one of the great masters of batting, each attracting his own army of supporters for the title, the best; yet all three inextricably and permanently associated with each other, wrote Michael Manley in his A History of West Indies Cricket.

The three kept the platform ready for Gary Sobers and others, who joined the team later, to lend the kind of dimension that the West Indies badly needed. What followed was sunshine cricket and a relentless march of the juggernaut that was the West Indies team which dominated international scene like no side ever did till the early 1990s. If Jimmy Adams and company try to emulate the deeds of Worrell, Weekes and Walcott, they would be better off.

Tall (over 6 ft. 2 in.), powerfully built (weighing about 15 stone) and of broad shoulders, Walcott carried tremendous power in his shots. He was very strong off his backfoot and very few batsmen could match his cover-drive and square-cut. His was a commanding presence at the crease even though his stance appeared a bit crouching. For one so brutally aggressive, Walcott had a surprisingly solid defence.

One of the finest of starters, it was difficult for the best of captains to set a field for Walcott. Nor was it easy for the best of bowlers to dislodge Walcott once he was in his element. More often than not it was either Worrell or Weekes to give him company at the other end, batting just about as majestically as Walcott. The plight of the bowlers as well as fielders in such a scenario could well be imagined.

Walcott and Worrell studied together in school. Walcott was a Harrison College student then. They also played together in the strong Barbados side from 1942 until 1947. He and Worrell (314 not out) added 574 runs for the fourth wicket for Barbados against Trinidad at Port of Spain in 1945-46. The two were to share many big partnerships in Test cricket, too. There was good understanding between the two, especially when batting together.

Like Ian Botham about three decades later, Walcott was a precocious lad with a strong will to succeed in whatever he tried his hand at. During those years, when the world was young, Walcott was a good football player also. He was always quick on his feet, whether playing cricket or soccer. What's more, he was a good off-spinner, useful fast- medium change bowler and, of course, reliable wicketkeeper.

Originally, and initially, it was his wicketkeeping that kept him in the Test side. However, after his impressive performance with the willow, first in India in 1948-49 (452 runs at 64.57 in Tests and overall 1366 runs at 75.88 in all first-class matches) and then in England in 1950- 51 (1674 runs at 55.80, including 7 hundreds, on the tour), batting became an all too important feature of his cricket and wicketkeeping only secondary, as it were.

For a man of such a massive frame, wicketkeeping was probably a strain, particularly when he developed back trouble on the tour of England where the West Indians made history. To tell the truth, Walcott gave up standing behind the stumps just after that. He decided to concentrate on his already superb batting, much to the chagrin of bowlers. And he also established himself as a brilliant first slip.

Walcott, who was a towering success in England, came a cropper down under against the shock Australian attack of Ray Lindwall and Keith Miller in 1951-52. But diehard critics did not fail to notice that Walcott was really a heavyweight in the heavyweight division of cricket, a fact he was to confirm with his stunning exploits in the Caribbean against England and Australia in 1953- 54 and 1954-55 respectively.

Continuing his liking for the English bowling, Walcott scored 698 runs at 87.25. His 3 hundreds against the Englishmen included his highest score, 220 in the second Test at Bridgetown, Barbados. Against Australia he achieved the then West Indies record aggregate of 827 runs at an average of 82.70. Interestingly, during the course of his amazing run riot in the rubber, Walcott hit as amany as five centuries.

The big man began his 1956-57 England tour on a promising note but injured himself while scoring 90 in the first Test at Edgbaston.

Although he still managed to finish the tour with 1414 runs at 45.61, to many a discerning eye, Walcott was a poor shadow of his vintage self. C. L. R. James, a witness to Walcott's glory and agony, was compelled to note sadly the decline of the master batsman.

Walcott started the 1957 season in England in splendid form but injured himself in the first Test when scoring 90. Never afterwards did he recapture form and, though he ended the season with good figures, his past achievements and commanding style when he did make runs left a feeling of some massive piece of machinery gone wrong, wrote the Marxist cricket writer and historian in his The World of Cricket.

There was said to be a touch of seriousness about Walcott the cricketer and Walcott the man. He had an almost mournful countenance, and in repose an onlooker might have thought him sad, said Manley. But Worrell, who knew Walcott better than the former political leader known for his passion for the willow game, gave a completely different picture of the Walcott persona. And Worrell should know.

HARESH PANDYA

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