Diminutive and scintillating Everton Weekes, scourge of Indian spinners. Excerpt from Indra Vikram Singh’s book ‘Don’s Century’

The diminutive Everton Weekes was a scintillating strokeplayer, quick on his feet and particularly strong on the off-side.

He scored hundreds in five consecutive Test innings, beginning with the fourth and final match of his first series, as he hit up 141 against England at Kingston in 1947-48. Then during the tour to India in 1948-49, Weekes scored 128 at Delhi, 194 at Bombay, and a century in each innings - 162 and 101 - at Calcutta. In his next outing at Madras, he was run out for 90, the West Indies winning the only Test that produced a result in the series.

For good measure, Weekes scored 56 and 48 in the final Test, back at the Brabourne Stadium. He set the pattern as the West Indies won the toss in all five matches and batted first on easy-paced wickets. The bulk of the bowling was done by the spin twins, left-armer Vinoo Mankad and off-spin exponent Ghulam Ahmed, with one medium-pacer of some quality being Dattu Phadkar. It was, nevertheless, a triumph of concentration, patience and brilliant strokeplay, as Weekes logged up 779 runs in the series at an average of 111.28.       

When it was the turn of the Indians to make a return tour of the Caribbean islands four years later, Weekes was just as severe on their hapless bowlers. By now leg-spinner Subhash Gupte had joined Mankad. Again the West Indies triumphed 1-0, with the lone win coming at Bridgetown. Weekes scored 207 at Port of Spain, 47 and 15 in the relatively low-scoring game at Bridgetown, 161 and 55 not out again at Port of Spain, 86 at Georgetown, and 109 and 36 at Kingston. That was a total of 716 runs at 102.28 per innings.

Weekes scored three centuries in the 1955-56 series in New Zealand. But, like Neil Harvey, he did not replicate such successes when confronted by the stronger attack of England, as also Australia, never scoring more than one century in any series against them.

On his first tour of England in 1950, though, in first-class matches Weekes scored a triple century and four double centuries. Only Bradman had six scores of 200 or more on an English tour two decades earlier.

In 48 Tests Weekes scored 4455 runs at an average of 58.61, notching up 15 hundreds.

(Author Indra Vikram Singh can be contacted on email singh_iv@hotmail.com).

Don’s Century

Published in India by Sporting Links

ISBN 978-81-901668-5-0

Fully illustrated

Paperback French Fold 11 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches

188 pages