A few months ago, I met a man in Jamaica who told me a story. I remember him as Mr. Sang, and he related that some time in 1959 or so, when he was around 18 and a fearless opening batsman.
He had fretfully agreed to play in a match against one of the better teams in the Island.
On the day of the game he strode out apprehensively to take first strike against the opposition’s opening bowler.
There was good reason for his anxiety, for the man armed with the new ball and raring to charge in to him was none other than the then out of favour West Indies fast bowler, Roy Gilchrist.
Probably the fastest bowler in the world at that time, Gilchrist ran in and delivered what must have been a half-paced loosener, and Mr. Sang was able to gather himself enough to slash it for four through the offside.
He was then bombarded by chatter from the close-in fielders who told him (some apparently out of genuine concern for his well being) that he might have acted unwisely, because Gilchrist was now bound to get riled up, and by disrespecting the notoriously volatile pacer by needlessly hitting his first ball to the boundary, he might have placed his very life in jeopardy.
All of this only served to heighten his state of unease and he decided then and there that he would try to appear unconcerned, though he reserved the right to retreat to square leg should he perceive menace in any particular delivery.
He then realised how futile that approach was when neither he nor the wicketkeeper saw anything of the second ball, which had to be retrieved from under the sightscreen.
Still, he managed to bat for a while that day, scoring, as he remembers it, some twenty-odd runs. Moreover, he did not fall to Gilchrist.
Despite the warnings from the close-in fielders, the famous fast bowler didn’t seem intent on maiming anyone that day, operating, it seemed, mostly just above half-pace. But it was still the most hostile bowling he had ever faced and it was an encounter he would never forget.
Fast-bowler would not be your first guess upon seeing Roy Gilchrist. Standing at just about 5’8” and not sturdily built, he gained propulsion from his unusually long arms and a speedy and rhythmical approach to the wicket. And he was fast.
Sobers considers him the fastest bowler he ever played with or against (that would include Wes Hall and Dennis Lillee) and Pakistani great, Hanif Mohammad, admitted that facing Gilchrist was at times terrifying.
Legend has it that he once landed a delivery halfway down the pitch that crashed into the sightscreen without bouncing. Wild in his early days he improved to the point where teammate Basil Butcher, in a 1998 interview, said many considered him the best fast bowler in the world in 1958.
But Gilchrist could also be difficult to manage. He played for the West Indies between May 1957 and February 1958, and had a tumultuous relationship with the authorities for the entire time.
Former Jamaican Prime Minister, Michael Manley, writing in A History of West Indies Cricket said Gilchrist was “burdened by those tensions which so often run like scars across the landscape of the personalities of people who come from poverty”.
Burdened by a short fuse, the Jamaican lacked the self-control that is always necessary to deal with challenging situations.
If he felt the least bit slighted he struck out, often resorting to violence. He and his captain, Gerry Alexander, could not have been more different.
Alexander, though a decent man, was a Cambridge-educated White Jamaican who did not appreciate Gilchrist’s difficult and complex personality.
A disciplinarian, his first instinct was to come down hard on any act of insubordination and this made for a potentially combustible relationship.
Things came to a head on the 1958/59 tour of India and Pakistan. He achieved his best bowling figures in the third Test of the India leg when his 6/55 in the second innings led the West Indies to victory.
But in a tour match against North Zone, he responded to some taunting from Swaranjit Singh, a Cambridge schoolmate of Alexander, by trying to remove his head with a few beamers. Ignoring a command to desist he continued his assault.
His captain had already put him on notice for refusing to apologise for using a curse-word. And there were reports that he even pulled a knife on Alexander.
The result of all this is that Gilchrist was sent home after the Indian leg of the tour and never played for the West Indies again, prematurely ending a promising career with 57 wickets at 26.68 in 13 Tests. He was just 24.
After beating India 3-0 the West Indies went on to lose 1-2 against Pakistan and many were convinced that the result would have been different had Gilchrist made the trip.
Realising his value as the pace spearhead, and recognising that he “was one of them” according to cricket historian CLR James, there was much outcry for his reinstatement as they felt the pacer would respond to more sensitive handling.
Gilchrist adored Frank Worrell. Worrell’s biographer, Ivo Tennant, reports that he would even consult Worrell before buying a shirt, and so the masses felt that the Barbadian would have been able to handle their explosive hero.
Worrell, who succeeded Alexander, after a stirring media campaign waged by James, apparently wanted Gilchrist for the 1960/61 Australian tour.
But the West Indies cricket board would not budge and Gilchrist had to spend the rest of his cricketing days playing in the leagues in England, where he took a mountain of wickets.
And he even had a stint playing in India.
His red-hot temper came to the fore while playing in the leagues too, and there is at least one report of him using a stump to physically reprimand a batsman. His dear wife, Novlyn was not spared either: in 1967 a heated argument ended with him cruelly applying a hot clothing iron to her skin, an offence for which he was given a seemingly light sentence of three months probation.
The judge had very harsh words for the pacer: “I hate to think that English sport has sunk so far that brutes will be tolerated because they are good at games.”
Gilchrist returned to Jamaica in 1985 after 26 years in England. Stricken with Parkinson’s disease he died in 2001 at the age of 67.
In continuing his story, Mr. Sang said that some years later he had the opportunity of spending some time and sharing a few drinks with the man who had caused him so much worry during that first encounter. Gilchrist, he said, was one of the nicest men he ever met.
sheek
Roar Guru
Hi Bayman, And all true. I went back & looked at Hall's bowling figures in 1960/61, & seriously, he can't complain that he was overbowled. 1st test: 47 overs & 9 wickets. 2nd test: 21 overs & 6 wickets. 3rd test: 21 overs & 2 wickets. 4th test: 35 overs & 3 wickets. 5th test: 20 overs & 2 wickets. Hall was brilliant in the first two tests, but contributed little in the last three. He also became more expensive as the series wore on. Hall has to accept responsibility for not maintaining full fitness. It dogged him throughout his career. His career ended in 1968/69 when he was 31, but his last series of note was 1966 when he was 29. He was not a keen trainer. Agreed the 1960/61 series didn't lack for excitement. Even now, when trawling back through the figures, it was one heck of a series. Pretty sure the Windies would have won with Gilly in their attack complimenting Hall. Lucky for Oz it happened differently.
Bayman
Guest
Sheek, Given the closeness of that famous series it does seem possible, even probable, that the West Indies would have won if Gilchrist had been on the tour - and playing. With Worrell in charge that was more than likely although, from memory, Alexander was the vice-captain so the selection meetings might have been interesting. In four of the five Tests the Windies opening attack was Hall and Worrell although in the last three Tests Worrell opened in the first innings and Sobers in the second. Hall was the one stable component of the attack. Watson played in the Second Test with Sobers and Worrell as the change bowlers. The problem for the Windies, of course, was that Watson and Dewdney did not quite measure up. Worrell was about 36 years old and was still a key middle order batsman, along with captaincy duties, while Sobers was the gun in the batting line-up. Certainly they had Hunte and Kanhai but Sobers was the batting key. His two great hundreds in Brisbane and Sydney resulted in a tie and a victory. On the bowling front Sobers bowled the most overs of any of the fast men and in the Test series only Gibbs bowled more (to the tune of 1.2 overs!). In all first class games only Valentine (376.7) and Gibbs (373.2) bowled more overs than Sobers (356). Clearly, a lot was asked of, and expected from, Sobers. Incidentally, Hall bowled nearly 50 overs less than Sobers in the Test series and nearly 100 overs less in all the first class games on tour (which included the Tests). With Gilchrist in the side the Windies would almost certainly have won in Adelaide while Australia got the tie in Brisbane on the back of Norm O'Neill making his highest Test score (181) and Alan Davidson becoming the first player in cricket history to score a hundred runs (including his Test best 80) and take ten wickets in the same Test. Gilchrist would certainly have made things interesting - not that the 1960/61 series needed much more!
Garfield Robinson
Roar Pro
Reports are that Worrell asked for Gilchrist specifically for the purpose of beating Australia but the board would not relent. There is little doubt in my mind that had he toured in 1960/61 WI would have won that series.
Garfield Robinson
Roar Pro
Wow! It appears a knife was his weapon of choice. It is said that he drew a knife at Hendricks in India and that was one cause of the tension between them. There is also a story that he swore, which was against team rules, and refused to apologize. How I would love to talk to your neighbor.
Bayman
Guest
Garfield, Just last week I had the opportunity to meet a new neighbour who, as it turns out, played club cricket with Gilchrist in England. He confirmed Mr Sang's opinion that off the field Gilchrist was one of the nicest people one could find. On it, however, he could be very volatile indeed. He vividly remembered Gilchrist playing one game with a knife tucked into his socks. Why Gilchrist might have thought that necessary was never explained and my new neighbour, and old Gilchrist teammate, was not about to ask him.
Sailosi
Guest
My dad used to wax lyrical about 2 west indies fast bowlers that the world didn't see enough of, Gilchrist and Sylvester Clarke. When he was studying in England he used to love watching the West Indian players ply their trade in county cricket and the lower leagues. -- Comment left via The Roar's iPhone app. Download it now [http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/the-roar/id327174726?mt=8].
sheek
Roar Guru
Hi Garfield, There's only one thing that stopped the Windies winning that famous 1960/61 series against Australia, & it was a backup paceman to Wes Hall. Hall was bowled into the ground (Worrell didn't have any choice but to over bowl his spearhead). Consequently, in the last two tests, much of the sting had gone out of Hall's bowling. Neither Chester Watson nor tom Dewdney were good enough to support Hall, while Sobers & Worrell himself were more first-change fast bowlers. Gilchrist wasn't wanted & Charlie griffith wasn't considered ready for the big stage. It's a shame for Windies fans. With either Gilchrist or griffith bowling alongside hall, I have little doubt the Windies would have won the series. Hindsight is a wonderful thing & we can only speculate how well Worrell would have handled Gilchrist in Australia.