1. Sir Conrad Cleophas Hunte, KA was a Barbadian cricketer.
36 Facts About Conrad Hunte
1. 2.
Conrad Hunte was born in rural St Andrew Parish in the north of Barbados, the son of a sugar plantation worker.
3.
One of nine children, Conrad Hunte grew up in a one-room house.
4.
Conrad Hunte showed the first glimpses of his talent, making the school First XI aged 10 where he played with and against boys much bigger and older than himself.
5.
Conrad Hunte's talent was noted by the school gamesmaster, who placed him straight into the school First XI, where he played against boys aged up to 18.
6.
Conrad Hunte captained the school team in his last three years.
7.
In 1950 Conrad Hunte made the BCL representative team for its annual match against the elite Barbados Cricket Association team.
8.
Conrad Hunte scored 63 runs in the first innings and followed this with 15 in the second.
9.
Conrad Hunte was offered a place with the elite Empire Cricket Club in Division 1 of the Barbados Cricket Association, the home club of his sporting idol Everton Weekes.
10.
Conrad Hunte worked for a time as a school teacher at St Simon's Mixed School, the Barbados civil service as an Accounts Clerk and later in life insurance.
11.
In 1956 Conrad Hunte moved to England, to study Economics and looking for a professional contract in English league cricket.
12.
Conrad Hunte worked at a bus plant and cotton mill in Lancashire before being picked up by Leyland Motors Cricket Club in the Northern League.
13.
The next year Conrad Hunte was contracted by Enfield Cricket Club in the Lancashire League.
14.
The relationship between Conrad Hunte and Enfield was a happy one; unlike most professionals who tended to wander, Conrad Hunte stayed at the club for six seasons.
15.
In 1959, Conrad Hunte set a club record for the most runs scored in a season.
16.
When Conrad Hunte moved to England, he had advised the selectors of the West Indies team that he was available to tour England in 1957 should he be chosen.
17.
When no invitation was forthcoming Conrad Hunte signed to play with Enfield.
18.
Later Conrad Hunte was told that the West Indies Cricket Board had sent him a letter, which failed to reach him in Lancashire.
19.
Conrad Hunte replied that he was, provided Enfield would agree to release him from his contract.
20.
Conrad Hunte was only the second West Indian to carry his bat in a Test innings.
21.
Conrad Hunte did make his Test debut the following winter against Pakistan at his home ground of Kensington Oval.
22.
Conrad Hunte hit the first two balls that he faced, from Fazal Mahmood, for fours and made 142 runs in his first innings.
23.
Conrad Hunte played a major role in West Indies' series win in England in 1963.
24.
Conrad Hunte curbed his aggressive instincts as a batsman to build a solid platform for the innings.
25.
Conrad Hunte scored 182 in the first innings of the summer as West Indies won by 10 wickets.
26.
Conrad Hunte finished the series with a batting average of 58.87, and was chosen as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1964.
27.
Conrad Hunte expected to be appointed captain in his place, and when Garfield Sobers was chosen instead, he was bitterly disappointed, and for six weeks considered resigning himself.
28.
In total, Conrad Hunte played in 44 Tests between 1958 and 1967.
29.
Conrad Hunte scored eight centuries, including at least one against every country he played against.
30.
Conrad Hunte retired from cricket in 1967, although he could possibly have continued for some more years, to work full-time for MRA, promoting harmonious race relations.
31.
Conrad Hunte wrote his autobiography, entitled Playing to Win, in 1971.
32.
In 1991, as apartheid was coming to an end in South Africa, Conrad Hunte rang the director of the new United Cricket Board of South Africa, Ali Bacher, and offered to help develop cricket in the black townships and promote reconciliation between the races.
33.
Conrad Hunte worked as National Development Coach, funded by the MCC, for seven years.
34.
Conrad Hunte coached the South Africa women's national cricket team at the 1997 Women's Cricket World Cup in India, its first appearance in the tournament.
35.
In 1998 Conrad Hunte was conferred the highest honour in Barbados; he was made a Knight of St Andrew of the Order of Barbados.
36.
Conrad Hunte was elected to the presidency of the Barbados Cricket Association, with plans to revive cricket in the country, but he died two months later, while in Australia to speak at a conference of the MRA.