Everton Weekes

Sir Everton Weekes was a Barbadian batsman and one of the West Indies' famed 'Three Ws', renowned for scoring five consecutive Test centuries.

Born on 26 February 1925 in Bridgetown, Barbados, Everton Weekes made his Test debut against England in 1947-48 and, after a difficult start, responded to crowd criticism with an innings of 141. On the subsequent tour of India, he produced one of the greatest sustained runs of form in cricket history, scoring 779 runs at an average of 111.28 including a world-record five consecutive Test centuries, a run only ended by a controversial run-out decision in Madras on 90 that denied him a sixth. Weekes formed 'The Three Ws' of West Indian cricket alongside fellow Barbadians Frank Worrell and Clyde Walcott, all three born within a mile of each other and delivered by the same midwife. Small in stature but a ruthless, predominantly back-foot run-gatherer, Weekes was considered by contemporaries including Richie Benaud and Keith Miller to have the edge over his celebrated compatriots. In 1950, Weekes scored 2,310 runs at an average of 79.65 on the tour of England, including a triple century against Cambridge University, helping the West Indies win a series in England for the first time. He continued to score heavily throughout the 1950s, including a career-best 207 against India at Port-of-Spain in 1953. A persistent thigh injury forced Weekes to retire in 1958 while still in his early thirties, finishing with 4,455 Test runs from 48 matches at an average of 58.61 — one of the highest averages in Test history among players with more than 4,000 runs. He was knighted in 1995 and died on 1 July 2020 at age 95, the last surviving member of the Three Ws.

Ruthless, attacking back-foot batsman with a wide range of strokes

One of the greatest and most consistent batsmen in West Indies cricket history

• Knighted for services to cricket 1995
• scored five consecutive Test centuries, a record
• Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1951
• ICC Cricket Hall of Fame