'A true humble great of the game' - Cricketing fraternity mourns the passing away of West Indies great Sir Everton Weekes

Former West Indies legendary cricketer Sir Everton Weekes breathed his last on Wednesday. He was battling ill health for a long time and passed away aged 95 at his home in Barbados. He was the last member of the legendary three Ws who dominated the world cricket in the 20th century. Sir Clyde Walcott, Sir Frank Worrell and Sir Everton Weekes formed a formidable batting line-up for the West Indies.

Weekes played 48 Tests for the West Indies during his 10-year international career and amassed 4841 runs at an average of 58.41 with 15 centuries and 19 fifties and the highest score being 207. He played as many as 152 first-class matches scoring 12010 runs smashing 36 tons. Interestingly, he also worked as an ICC match referee for a short period of time and officiated in seven matches (4 Tests and 3 ODIs).

The news of Everton Weekes’ passing away was revealed by Cricket West Indies (CWI) on its official Twitter handle. “Our hearts are heavy as we mourn the loss of an icon. A legend, our hero, Everton Weekes. Our condolences go out to his family, friends and many fans around the world. May he rest in peace,” the tweet read.

MCC’s statement

The Marylebone Cricket Club also released a statement in which they expressed condolences to the family and friends on Everton Weekes and also termed him as the West Indies’ one of the finest cricketers ever. “Everyone at MCC and Lord’s are saddened at the news of Sir Everton Weekes’ passing. He will forever be remembered as one of @windiescricket’s finest cricketers. Our thoughts are with his family and friends,” the statement read.

Meanwhile, the cricketing fraternity also woke up to the sad news and even some of the former Indian cricketers including Anil Kumble and Ravi Shastri also took to Twitter to express themselves. “Saddened to hear about the passing of WI legend Sir. Everton Weekes. Had met him during the ICC conference in Barbados. He remembered a conversation we had during his time as match referee. Condolences to his family and friends,” Kumble’s tweet read.

Here are some of the tweets: