Former West Indies opener Basil Williams dies

Basil Williams played in seven Tests for West Indies

Former West Indies opening batsman, Basil Williams has died at the age of 65. Williams only played seven Tests for West Indies in his career. This was during the years 1978 and 1979, when the West Indies side was significantly undermined because of many players going to play in the World Series Cricket (WSC).

Williams’ resolute attacking style while batting earned him the nickname “Shotgun”. In addition to the depleted West Indian squad, Williams had a good season in the Shell Shield in 1977-78.

He made his Test debut against a weakened Australia side in Georgetown in 1978. He became the tenth West Indian to score a century on Test debut when he scored a brisk 100 off 118 balls in the second innings of the match.

Williams had a good run with the bat in the three-Test series as he scored 257 runs at an average of 42.83. This good performance led him to be picked for the West Indies’ tour of India.

The Caribbeans visited India during the months of December 1978 and January 1979 during which they played four Tests in Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Delhi. In the Kolkata Test, Williams scored his second Test hundred, which ended up becoming his highest Test score – 111. He finished the series scoring 212 runs at 35.33.

After the Test series against India, Williams was dropped as the players who played in the WSC returned. Despite playing consistently for his country, he was not able to impress the national selectors and was never played for the West Indies again.

His short Test career of seven matches produced 469 runs at an average of 39.08.

His First-Class career spanned a duration of 15 years from 1970 to 1985 when he played 46 matches and scored 2702 runs with a batting average of 36.02. He scored five hundreds and 15 fifties.

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) paid tribute to the former opener. “We mourn the loss of another servant of the game in the Caribbean. Indeed, the Jamaica Cricket Association and the Kensington Cricket Club family of which he was a part for all of his life will miss him,” WICB president Dave Cameron said.

“I knew 'Shotgun', as he was affectionately known, having been a member of Kensington for so many years. He was captain of the first team and I had the honour of playing with him. He was a tough, but fair captain and a no-nonsense guy,” he continued.