'Had heard many stories about his batting' - Sachin Tendulkar mourns death of Sir Everton Weekes

Legendary West Indies batsman Sir Everton Weekes, 95, breathed his last on Wednesday after battling with a prolonged illness. 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 in that era.

Tributes started pouring in from all across the cricketing universe as the news of Weekes’ demise started doing rounds on social media. Legendary West Indies batsman Sir Vivian Richards also hailed Weekes as ‘one of the greatest from the country’. 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,” tweeted West Indies Cricket.

Our hearts are heavy as we mourn the loss of an icon. A legend, our hero, Sir Everton Weekes. Our condolences go out to his family, friends and many fans around the world. May he rest in peace. 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/RnwoJkhjPd

— Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) July 1, 2020

Ravi Shastri also paid tribute to Sir Everton Weekes

India stalwart Sachin Tendulkar also paid tribute to Weekes and condoled his demise. The Little Master tweeted that he had heard many stories about Weekes’ batting heroics.  “Sir Everton Weekes is no more! Had heard many stories about his batting along with the other Legendary 2Ws. You will be missed Sir. Rest In Peace,” wrote Tendulkar on Twitter.

Sir Everton Weekes is no more!
Had heard many stories about his batting along with the other Legendary 2Ws.
You will be missed Sir.
Rest In Peace. 🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/orT5cs4o06

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) July 2, 2020

Along with Tendulkar, many prominent Indian names including Anil Kumble and Ravi Shastri mourned the death of the West Indies legend. While playing 48 Tests from 1947 to 1958, Weekes scored 4455 runs at an impressive average of 58.61. He was known for his quick footwork and fluent strokeplay.

After making his Test debut against England in 1948, Weekes went on to smash 15 centuries, which also included a record five in consecutive innings. He was also going to slam the sixth hundred before he fell short by 10 runs due to a wrong umpiring decision. Weekes even took lesser innings to cross 1000 Test runs (12 innings) in comparison to Sir Donald Bradman.

Hence, his batting exploits and run-scoring spree were often compared with Bradman’s. Weekes final on-field appearance was against Pakistan in 1958 at Trinidad. In 1951, he was also named among Wisden’s Cricketers of the Year.