Charlie Griffith

Sir Charlie Griffith was a Barbadian fast bowler who formed one of cricket's most fearsome opening bowling partnerships with fellow Barbadian Wes Hall through the 1960s, though his career was shadowed by controversy over his bowling action.

On the West Indies' 1963 tour of England, Charlie Griffith was virtually unplayable, finishing as the tourists' leading wicket-taker with 119 wickets at an average of 12.83, including 32 in the Test series as the West Indies won 3-1 — one of the most devastating fast-bowling performances in the post-war era. His rapid rise saw him play just one first-class match, against a touring MCC side, before being called into the West Indies Test squad for the 1960 series against England, where he made his debut alongside a young Wes Hall, launching a partnership that would become one of the sport's most celebrated fast-bowling pairings. Griffith's finest hour came on the 1963 tour of England, where he finished as the West Indies' leading wicket-taker with 119 wickets at an average of 12.83, including 32 in the Test series as the West Indies won 3-1; his devastating yorker, which he said he could "produce at will," proved virtually unplayable, and he was named a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1964. Griffith's career was also shadowed by controversy, most seriously during a 1962 tour match against India, when a rising delivery struck Indian captain Nari Contractor on the head, fracturing his skull and requiring emergency surgery; Contractor survived but never played Test cricket again. Griffith was also twice called for throwing during his career, with his bowling action a subject of ongoing debate among contemporaries. He retired in 1969 with 94 Test wickets and 332 first-class wickets, and went on to serve for nearly three decades with the Barbados Cricket Association, being knighted for his services to the sport.

Tall, muscular fast bowler renowned for raw pace and a devastating yorker

Remembered as one of the fastest and most fearsome bowlers of his era, his legacy complicated by ongoing debate over his bowling action

• 94 Test wickets for the West Indies
• West Indies' leading wicket-taker on the 1963 England tour (119 wickets)
• Wisden Cricketer of the Year (1964)
• Knighted for services to cricket
• One quarter of Desmond Haynes's all-time Barbados fast-bowling XI (with Hall, Marshall, Garner)