Black and White

"I look to a day when people will not be judged by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character", is a famous quote of Dr Martin Luther King Jr. A bright example to the spirit of this quote is found in the Sir Frank Worrell Trophy. 

The Frank Worrell Trophy (picture given above is taken from the internet) is awarded to the winner of the Cricket Test Series played between the Australian Cricket Team and West indies Cricket Team from the 1960-61 series onwards. The life story of Sir Frank Worrell (Knighted in the year 1964 for his services to Cricket) is worth remembering in these days when George Floyd Protests are raging all over the world.

The period was during the years 1960-61. Those were the days of "White Australia Policy", where blacks in Australia did not have the right of a full citizen. A 5-match Cricket Test series was played in Australia between the Australia team and the West Indies team. Members of the West Indian team were welcome as cricket players, but not as citizen. The two teams played under the leadership of Richie Benaud and Frank Worrell respectively. All the matches were played with record number of spectators thronging the stadia.  The series started with the great "Tied Test" at Brisbane, the first ever tied test between two cricket teams where both teams had equal number of runs at the end of two innings. This is as against a draw where the match is inconclusive and ends due to expiry of the time allotted for the game.  Australia won the second test at Melbourne but West Indies won the third test at Sydney. Fourth match at Adelaide was drawn leaving the final match at Melbourne to decide the series winner. The series could have gone either way till the finish in Melbourne. Last test was viewed by over 91,000 spectators in the Melbourne Cricket Ground with many disappointed viewers being unable to get entry into the stadium. The 5-Test series was ultimately won by Australia 2-1, with Australia winning the last match by two wickets.  

Sir Donald Bradman was the Chairman of the Australian Cricket Board of Control. He commissioned a former cricketer and jeweller by profession, Earnie McCormick to make a trophy to be awarded to the winner of the series between these two teams. The Ashes was already a well-known name for a trophy played between the England and Australia Cricket Test Series. The new trophy was to be on similar lines for series played between Australia and West Indies teams. The trophy was named after the captain of the losing team, considering the popularity of the visiting team and the great leadership qualities exhibited by Frank Worrell. That the trophy was named after the captain of a visiting cricket team of predominantly black players which lost the series is a testimony to the great values that Frank Worrell stood for. 

*****

It is a sheer coincidence that the lives of Dr Martin Luther King Jr and Sir Frank Worrell run parallel to each other. Frank Worrell (01-08-1924) was born 5 years earlier to Dr Martin Luther King Jr (15-01-1929) and died (13-03-1967) one year before him (04-04-1968). Both lived a short life before events cut short their life. Worrell lived for 42 years before Leukaemia ended his life. Dr King lived for 39 years before his assassination. For a period of 38 years they lived in the same era (1929-1967) during their short lives, but remembered for their great contributions to the society. 

"We may have all come on different ships, but we are in the same boat now" is a famous saying of Dr King. Sir Frank Worrell practiced this all the way in his life, both on and off the cricket field. 

"A genuine leader is not a searcher for Consensus, but a moulder of Consensus" is another famous quote of Dr King. Sir Frank Worrell showed this in his efforts as a leader of men not just in Cricket, but in diverse fields of life as well.

*****

What is so great about Sir Frank Worrell that we have to remember him during the times of George Floyd protests? George Floyd Jr was an African American who was killed by a white police officer during an arrest in Minneapolis, USA, on 25th May, 2020. The killing was due to use of excessive force as shown by subsequent investigations. This has led to protests under BLM movement (Black Lives Matter) in several cities. The protests spread to several parts of the country and required Special Police forces to be deployed to bring calm to the surcharged atmosphere.

*****

What were the accomplishments of Frank Worrell? Sir Frank Mortimer Maglinne Worrell was born in Bridgetown, Barbados on 1st August, 1924. He later moved to Kingston, Jamaica. He was a Right hand Batsman and Left Arm Bowler, bowling both seam and slow types. He played First Class Cricket for both Barbados and Jamaica. He scored 15,025 runs with an average of 54.24 and got 349 wickets in first Class matches. He was associated in two 500-run partnerships in first class cricket. He played 51 test matches for West Indies (1948-63) scoring 3,860 runs at an average of 49.48 and 69 test wickets. He scored 9 test centuries and 22 fifties. He also carried his bat through a test innings, opening the innings and remaining not out at the end of the innings. The games were played in the days of no helmets, uncovered pitches and no additional protections. The above statistics themselves is enough to show that he was a successful cricketer in an era when matches were not played throughout the year like present times. 

More than the quantity of his statistics, it was the way he played and inspired others to play that made him a great name to remember for ever. His great leadership qualities enabled him to become the first black captain of the West Indies team. All Cricket Teams represent a country unlike West indies which is not a country, but a combination of various island nations in the Carribean islands. Frank Worrell was able to combine players from different island countries into a formidable team to challenge the great teams of that time. Along with Sir Clyde Walcott and Sir Everton Weeks, Sir Frank Worrell formed the great 3Ws group of players who earned highest respect from the opponents on the field and off it as well. The 3Ws memorial, picture given alongside, is a living testimony to their accomplishments.

The 1960-61 series between Australia and West Indies was played when test cricket was at its dullest periods and there were days when even the team totals did not reach 200 runs. The slow tiring games were driving the spectators away from cricket grounds. Both Worrell and Benaud encouraged aggressive cricket. Aggression was in the way they fought with skills and not the physical show of aggression we see in many today's players. The teams fought hard on cricket field, but there were no sledging or exaggerated celebrations as we see today. Celebration on the field were more when an opposing player achieved a milestone. The players were darlings of the crowds. There was never a moment of dissent on the field against umpires rulings. In one such instance, in the last and delicate moments of the deciding test at Melbourne, an Australian batsman (Wally Grout) was ruled not out when the bail had fallen to the ground and the batsmen were running between the wickets. A mere look from Frank Worrell made the teammates get on with the game without a murmur! 

The Trophy was not just named after the visiting defeated team's captain, but over half a million people came out on the streets to bid farewell to the West Indies team taken in an open car procession. As one player (Conrad Hunte) recalls, the ticker-tape parade was a response normally reserved for Presidents and Prime Ministers. There were people on the streets, roof tops and balconies, waving and greeting the visiting players. A reception was given at the Melbourne Town Hall to them attended by many dignitaries. Another player recalls that they had lipstick and kisses marks allover their body with shouts of thanks and appreciation of the players cricketing skills as well as their exemplary conduct.

Worrell had many qualities that made him acceptable to everyone around him. He was the first player to donate blood when Indian cricket team Captain Nari Contractor was injured (3rd February, 1962) while facing a bouncer from Charlie Griffith. He treated everyone equally but had a special talent for identifying young talents and nursing them. Cricket's greatest allrounder of all times, Sir Garfield Sobers (again knighted for his services to Cricket) was Worrell's find and mentee. Worrell was made a Senator of Jamaica after he retired from cricket. He became a warden of Irvine Hall at the University of West Indies. He was diagnosed with Leukaemia while on a tour to India in 1966-67 and died a month later after return to Jamaica at a young age of 42 years. He was laid to rest the University of Barbados. His grave is visited by several people every day and remains a place to inspire people to follow the values he stood for. He taught a generation of people to play the game hard and fair, and end with good humour. He stood for political, economical and cultural cohesion and lived with a genuine smile. Not a put on one. The legacy of Sir Frank was carried on by his successors like Sir Garfield Sobers and Clive Lloyd.

Sir Frank Worrell had an Indian connection too. He was on a tour of India with the cricket team in 1966 (not as a player) when he was identified as suffering from Blood Cancer. He made many friends in India during that visit. That was the series in which B S Chandrashekar came into prominence by bowling 93 overs and taking 11 of the 14 West indies wickets that fell in the first test match at Bombay.  

There is a Hindi Movie by name "Around the World" (1967) starring Raj Kapoor and Rajshri. The song "Around the world in 8 dollars" from the film is famous. The sum 8 Dollars refers to the amount of Foreign Exchange allowed to Indian travellers in those days! The film is dedicated to Sir Frank Worell as can be seen in the beginning of titles. He can be seen in the film for a short while, when actor Om Prakash talks to him. 

*****

Luckily for the present generation, some of Worrell's actions can be seen on YouTube. A three part recording of the 1960-61 series is available on it. The third part (33 minutes) especially records the final test followed by the Trophy presentation by Frank Worrell to Richie Benaud in the presence of Don Bradman. There are scenes of the procession and farewell as well. Please click on this to see it. Click on this link to watch the cricketing greats of yesteryears Gary sobers, Neil Harvey, Colin McDonald, Alan Davidson, Bob Simpson, Rohan Kanhai, Wesley Hall, Alfred Valentine, Lance Gibbs, Gerry alexander, Cameroon Smith and Conrad Hunte recall the great qualities of Sir Frank Worrell.

The words of the captain of the opposing team, Richie Benaud, at the conclusion of the 1960-61 series, after receiving the Trophy and Worrell's cap, tie and blazer, sums up the whole episode: "He gave us his scalp (Cap), neck (Tie) and upper half of the body (Blazer). But he himself will remain in the hearts of cricket lovers in this country for many long day."

******

People like Sir Frank Worrell and Dr Martin Luther King Jr are indeed more relevant today, in the background of George Floyd protests.