'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.

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

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:

Sir Everton Weekes, wow! What a legend!
Remember my father being awestruck by the man & his batting abilities. Chappelli too used to frequently gush over his talents. Thank you Sir, for your immense contribution to our game.🙏#RIPWeekes

— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) July 2, 2020

Saddened by passing away of Sir Everton Weekes who was the last of the famous 'Three Ws'. A true humble great of the game. My thoughts and prayers are with Sir Weekes’ family and fans in this hour of grief. RIP Sir 🙏 – @windiescricket pic.twitter.com/cvRhdJ1yiu

— Ravi Shastri (@RaviShastriOfc) July 2, 2020

Heart goes out to the family and friends of Sir Everton Weeks. He's the only test batsman to hit five successive test hundreds. He was also a part of the famous three Ws of @windiescricket along with West Indies greats Sir Clyde Walcott and Sir Frank Worrell. #RIP pic.twitter.com/CjaHQmDPr2

— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) July 2, 2020

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. 🙏🏽

— Anil Kumble (@anilkumble1074) July 2, 2020

The great Everton Weekes bids goodbye at 95. Was a score some bowling sides would have been happy to concede when he was peeling off centuries. The three Ws will now rest together, adjacent to each other. They enriched cricket.

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) July 2, 2020