Former Windies batsman Seymour Nurse, who hit 258 in final Test innings, passes away

Seymour Nurse, one of the Windies’ most prolific scorers in the 1960s, passed away in a hospital in Bridgetown, Barbados, on May 6. Nurse was 85 and suffering from prolonged illness. The former right-hand batsman had played 29 Tests between 1960 and 1969 and scored over 2,500 runs with six hundreds at an average of 47 plus. He hit six centuries in his career with the highest score of 258 which he had scored against New Zealand in his final innings. Nurse is survived by his twin daughters.

Former West Indies and Barbados cricketer Desmond Haynes confirmed the news in a Facebook post. Haynes, who once had the record of the most number of ODI hundreds till Sachin Tendulkar broke it, called Nurse his “coach, mentor” and that they had idolised him. He said they did not only tried to bat like him but even talk like him.

“My coach my mentor, we all from the holders hill area love this man, we used to walk like Seymour bat like him and try to talk like him. Thanks for everything you have done for me. May he Rest In Peace and rise in glory,” the former famed West Indian opener wrote.

Nurse, a middle-order batsman, made his Test debut against England in 1960 in Kingston and scored 70 and 11. He had his injuries in Australia the same year and England in 1963 and took another three years to establish himself in the Caribbean side. On the tour of England in 1966, Nurse slammed 501 runs in five Tests including four fifties and a hundred. He was conferred Wisden Cricketer of the Year honour in 1967.

Nurse had played three Tests against India; scored a fifty in Kolkata

He had also played against India in three Tests, two of which were played in India, and scored a half-century in Kolkata (then Calcutta) in 1966.

In 141 first-class matches, Nurse scored almost 10k runs at an average of nearly 44, including 26 hundreds. He was also a brilliant close-in fielder and took 116 catches. He had also played six List ‘A’ games and contributed 246 runs, including one hundred. Nurse had continued with his association with cricket even after his retirement. He was a long-standing coach at the Barbados National Sports Council.

As a mark of respect to the legend, Windies players are sporting black armbands in the 2nd match of the Ireland Tri-Series against Bangladesh.

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