Port of Spain, (Asian independent) Former captain Brian Lara on Thursday mourned the demise of legendary West Indies batsman Everton Weekes, saying he was a man he trusted and respected tremendously.
Weekes passed away at the age of 95. He breathed his last at the Christ Church home on Wednesday in Barbados.
“The great Sir Everton Weekes would have graced Test cricket with the willow in his hands many years before I would have had an opportunity to watch the classy last surviving member of the formidable 3 Ws,” batting legend Lara wrote in an emotional Instagram post with a photo of him and Weekes.
In his career, Everton played 48 Test matches and made 4455 runs at an average of 58.61 per innings. This included a world record five consecutive centuries in 1948 — scores of 141 against England in Jamaica, followed by scores of 128, 194, 162 and 101 in India. In his next innings, he made 90.
Weekes was the last of the famous ‘Three Ws’ a trio of West Indian batting legends whose lives became irrevocably entwined. The other two being Frank Worrell and Clyde Walcott.
“I must say however that reading about his feats and watching clips of Sir Everton batting put him in my estimation into the upper echelons of the all time great batsmen.
“Strongly built like a Mike Tyson, but a quiet and humble man, he was always open to converse with me about batting or West Indies cricket.
“I trusted and respected him tremendously. He cared deeply about West Indies cricket and was always fair in his comments.
The West Indies cricket fraternity and the world at large has lost a great man. He was simply A GREAT WEST INDIAN!” added Lara.