Sheffield Cricket Lovers' Society Year Book 2020

45 www.sheffieldcricketlovers.org.uk Weekes, a prolific run accumulator, whilst Frank Worrall and Clyde Walcott were superstars in their own right. A record that Weekes holds, and highly unlikely ever to be beaten, had been achieved before that tour. After a poor start in the WI home series against England in 1947- 48 Weekes was chosen to play in the final Test as a replacement for George Headley. Weekes scored 141 in his only innings in this match. Then the WI toured India. A remarkable record was about to be established for in his first four innings of that series Weekes scored 128 in the first Test in New Delhi, 194 in the second Test in Bombay and 162 and 101 in the third Test in Calcutta. He had thus scored a Test match century in five consecutive innings. For the record, in the fourth Test in Madras (now Chennai) he was run out for 90. If it was a close call modern day camera equipment might have shown that he had made his ground. It should also be noted that in those days helmets were not worn. The 1950 Wisden, which records that series, was full of praise for Weekes’ flawless techniques and his powerful back foot play. It stated also that the Indian bowling was not a soft touch, mentioning in particular Rangachari, a round arm bowler, who accounted for the WI opening pair in the New Delhi Test with disconcerting out swingers. Other bowlers of note were Mankad, with his immaculate length and clever flighting making him difficult to play, and Banerjee who moved the ball about at a good pace and speedily accounted for the openers in the third Test. Let us now move forward to 2015 when, in the final Ashes Test at the Oval, Steve Smith scored 143. In the first Test at Edgbaston of the current 2019 series his scores were 144 and 142. In the second Test at Lord’s, Smith was on 80 and heading in all probability for another century when Jofra Archer bowled a short ball which reared up and hit him on his helmet, causing him to collapse and go off for a concussion test. At the fall of the next wicket Smith returned to bat and hit in fairly short time three consecutive 4’s despite his timing being not quite what it might have been. Very shortly after the last of these boundaries he was out, lbw to a ball from Woakes. Smith scored 92 and was therefore denied the chance of scoring what would have been four consecutive Test centuries against England in England. Even then he would have been one short of Weekes’ record and Smith’s centuries would not have been scored in consecutive Test Matches. Sir Everton de Courcy Weekes was born on 26 February 1925 and is 94 years old as I write this article. Earlier this year he suffered a heart attack but this is now behind him and I recently read in a wonderful piece by Sheffield’s own Scyld Berry, the Daily Telegraph cricket correspondent, that Weekes swam daily in the sea off his native Barbados until his heart attack, a truly special man. He is probably back in the water now as befits a man who was knighted for his services to cricket in 1995. The 3 Ws - Worrell, Weekes and Walcott