Gerry Alexander
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Franz Copeland Murray Alexander | |||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Kingston, Colony of Jamaica | 2 November 1928|||||||||||||||||||||
Died | 16 April 2011 Orange Grove, Jamaica | (aged 82)|||||||||||||||||||||
Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||
Role | Wicket-keeper | |||||||||||||||||||||
International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
National side | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Test debut (cap 96) | 25 July 1957 v England | |||||||||||||||||||||
Last Test | 10 February 1961 v Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||
Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: ESPNcricinfo, 19 April 2011 |
Franz Copeland Murray Alexander OD (2 November 1928 – 16 April 2011),[1] known as Gerry Alexander, was a Jamaican cricketer who played 25 Test matches for the West Indies. He was a wicket-keeper who had 90 dismissals in his 25 Test appearances and, though his batting average was around 30 in both Test and first class cricket, his only first-class century came in a Test on the 1960–61 tour of Australia.
Alexander was the last white man to captain the West Indies cricket team. He led the West Indies against Pakistan at home in 1958, on the tour of India and Pakistan in 1958–59 and against England in 1960. He would not tolerate the indiscipline of Roy Gilchrist on the tour of India and sent him home before the team reached Pakistan.
Early life
He was educated at Wolmer's Boys' School, which was founded in 1729 and is one of the oldest schools in the West Indies. He then attended Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. He played for the Cambridge cricket team in both 1952 and 1953, winning a Blue in both years for appearing in the University Match against Oxford. He also won a Blue at football, and went on to win an England amateur cap and an FA Amateur Cup winner's medal in 1953 playing for Pegasus. He played cricket for Cambridgeshire in 1954 and 1955.[2][3]
He represented
Test career
Having not played a first-class match since 1953, he appeared for
He only appeared in the final two Tests of that series, Rohan Kanhai being preferred as a makeshift keeper for the first three. Alexander distinguished himself in neither match, scoring 0 not out, 11, 0 and 0 and not keeping well, and West Indies lost both matches by an innings.[2]
After the series
In his first series as captain, in 1958, West Indies won at home by three matches to one against
West Indies next toured
Against North Zone in the last match of the Indian leg of the tour, Roy Gilchrist, who in earlier matches had already shown a tendency to bowl beamers when angry or frustrated, unleashed a barrage of such deliveries against Swaranjit Singh, whom Alexander had known at Cambridge. Gilchrist ignored his captain's instruction to cease this form of attack. During the lunch interval Alexander substituted Gilchrist. Subsequently Gilchrist was sent home, while the other players proceeded to Pakistan for the remainder of the tour. Alexander told Gilchrist: "You will leave by the next flight. Good afternoon." This was the end of Gilchrist's Test career. There were suggestions that he had pulled a knife on Alexander.[2]
West Indies lost their first two Tests against Pakistan but won the third, Pakistan's first home defeat.[2]
The following winter, West Indies lost by one Test to nil against England, with four matches drawn, under Alexander's captaincy. He had the consolation of finishing the series with 23 victims as wicketkeeper, equalling John Waite's world record. The West Indies lost heavily in the second Test in Trinidad, and the crowd rioted when they collapsed in their first innings. As a white man and a Jamaican, Alexander was an unpopular figure with the Trinidad crowd.[2]
Frank Worrell's return to the West Indies team for that series encouraged
He had a remarkably successful tour of Australia with the bat, scoring 60, 5, 5, 72, 0, 108, 63, 87 not out, 11 and 73 in the Tests. His century at Sydney was an important factor in enabling West Indies to win, and was the only one of his first-class career. He also kept wicket well. At the end of the tour he retired from cricket.[2]
Later life
After retiring as a cricketer he returned to the West Indies, where he pursued a career as a
In 1982 Jamaica awarded him the Order of Distinction for his contribution to sport.[2] He died on 16 April 2011 at the age of 82 in Orange Grove, Jamaica. His wife Barbara had died only four weeks previously; they had two children.[2]
References
- ^ "Former Windies captain Gerry Alexander dies at 82". jamaicaobserver.com. Archived from the original on 1 May 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Daily Telegraph obituary Retrieved 20 April 2011
- ^ The Independent obituary Retrieved 20 April 2011
- ISBN 9781905411924.