Sir
Conrad Hunte was born in Shorey Village on the
east coast of Barbados. He was the eldest of nine children, he grew up
playing cricket in the village and at the Alleyne school where he was
educated. Hunte first came to national focus in 1950-51 in the
annual Barbados Cricket Association versus the Barbados Cricket League
match. He scored a century and was selected to the Barbados national
team at the age of eighteen against Trinidad he scored 63 on debut.
However his next big break came in 1955-56 when
Barbados played against E. W. Swanton's X1, he made 151 and
95.
Conrad Hunte expected to make his debut on the 1957 tour of England and
even move to England in preparation, but he was surprisingly
not included in the team; there were claims that a letter inviting him
had not reached him. However during the Pakistan tour of the Caribbean
in 1958 Conrad Hunte was given his chance and emerge as an opening bat
of high calibre.
In his first match of the 1958 series Hunte open his Test match account
with a fine 142. He then followed this innings in the third Test with a
magnificant 260 to partner Garry Sobers in a record braking partnership
of 446, Sobers made 365 not out a World record then. Hunte also scored
109 not out in the fourth Test to complete his third ton for the
series. He finished his debut series with 622 runs at an
average of 77.75, and the West Indies won the series 3-1.
On the 1960-61 tour of Australia
Conrad Hunte was invited by Australian journalist James Coulter to see
the film The Crowning Experience, this film was based on the life of
the black American educator, Mary McLeod Bethune. This film was
promoted by Moral Re-Armament (MRA), a Christian organisation promoting
absolute moral and ethical standards of behaviour, to which Hunte
committed the remainder of his life.
On the 1963 tour of England
Conrad Hunte was made vice captain to Frank Worrell, it was on this
tour that Hunte now a devout member of Moral Re-Armament (MRA), decided
to curb his natural attacking instints and became the sheet-anchor for
the sake of the team. His decision paid huge dividends for himself and
the team. He began the series at Old Trafford with a match-winning
innings, 182, and finished it at The Oval with another ton, 108 not
out.
The West Indies won the 1963
series in England 3-1. Hunte finished the series with a batting average
of 58.87, and was chosen as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in
1964. After the retirement of Frank Worrell in 1963, at the
end of the English tour Conrad Hunte expected to be made captain;
however he was overlooked as the captaincy was given to Garry Sobers.
Hunte was truely disapointed and for a while considered resigning but
in the end decided to continue playing and giving of his best.
This he did and in the home
series against Australia in 1964-65 he scored 550
runs, without a century, he scored six fifties in ten innings,
with a highest score of 89 and an average of 61.11. Conrad Hunte played
in 44 Tests between 1958 and 1967. He scored 3245 runs with eight
centuries at an average of 45.06. He scored eight centuries, the last
in Bombay on the tour of 1966-67 his centuries were scored on four
continents which provides proof of his quality as an opening batsman.
After retiring from cricket,
Hunte worked for better race relations through an MRA inter-racial
group, and travelled the world before settling in Atlanta, where his
wife Patricia was a TV newsreader. In 1991, as South Africa inched
towards change, he called Ali Bacher and ask to help the reconciliation
process. He was accepted by the United cricket board of South Africa,
he stayed for seven years, with the title National Development
Coach. The emphasis was on motivating and inspiring young people in the
townships.
In 1998 Conrad Hunte services to
cricket were recognised when he was awarded Barbados' highest honour,
the Order of St Andrew, by the government of Barbados. He was
encouraged to return to Barbados to apply his experience and
expertise in helping to revive interest and standards of the nations
youth. He was attached to the Ministry of Education and Youth Affairs
and became immersed in his task.
Shortly after returing to
Barbados Sir Conrad Hunte won a heated election to became President of
the Barbados Cricket Association, with a mandate to revive it. He never
got the chance because two months later on December 3rd 1999 Sir Conrad
Hunte died of a heart attack in Sydney Australia, while playing a game
of tennis with his good friend James Coulter. He was in
Australia to make the keynote speech at a meeting of the
Moral Re-Armament (MRA) conference.
Conrad Hunte Test Cricket
Statistics
Full Name
Conrad Cleophas Hunte
Number
of Test
44
Test Run Aggregate
3,245
Test
Batting Average
45.06
Total Test Wickets
2
Test Bowling Average
55.00
Test
Centuries
8
Date of Birth
May
9, 1932, Greenland Plantation, Shorey's Village, St Andrew, Barbados
Died
December 3, 1999, Sydney, New South Wales,
Australia (aged 67 years 208 days)
Test Debut
West
Indies v Pakistan at Bridgetown - Jan 17-23, 1958
Last Test Match
India
v West Indies at Chennai - Jan 13-18, 1967
Batting
Style
Right hand bat
Bowling
Style
Right-arm medium
Screenshot
Description
Tied
Test 1960/61, The first ever Tied Test match between
Australia and the West Indies in 1960/61. Wes Hall bowled the Last over
in the Tied Test.
Format
Cost
NTSC - DVD
£24.99
Visit
the Tied Test Web Site
Screenshot
Description
Cricket
Legends These players are the 50 greatest cricketers of
the century, as voted by a blue-ribbon panel of judges assembled by
ESPN. The panelists were asked to list in order, their top 50 players.
Cricketing legends from Australia, England, India, New Zealand,
Pakistan, South Africa and the West Indies all made it to the final 50.
Among them are some famous West Indies fast bowlers, great Aussie
legends, and modern heros of the game. Disc 5 features the great George
Headley.