DailyExpertNews
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David Murray, a wicketkeeper for the West Indies cricket team in the 1970s and 1980s, has died aged 72, Cricket West Indies said on Saturday.
The Barbadian cricketer made his international debut in 1973, taking part in 19 tests, 10 one-day internationals and 114 first-class matches, according to Cricket West Indies. In the 1980s he was regarded as one of the best wicket-keepers in the game.
However, Murray’s legacy was tarnished by his decision to join a “rebel tour” of South Africa in 1983. Murray, along with several other West Indies cricket greats, accepted payment to travel to the apartheid country to play matches. against South African teams, despite South Africa being banned from international competition by the International Cricket Council, cricket’s global governing body.
The Board of Control of West Indies Cricket issued lifetime bans on those traveling to South Africa. Murray’s decision saw him and his teammates banned from the world of cricket and disgraced in their Caribbean countries, where they were seen as sold out.
In the years following the tour, Murray and his family were deported from Australia, where his wife gave birth to their baby girl, because of his role in the Rebel tours. They were not welcome in the Caribbean either, he told DailyExpertNews in 2013.
“They didn’t want me to come back,” said Murray. “Politics got involved.”
In a statement of condolence, CWI President Ricky Skerritt spoke of Murray’s legacy but made no mention of the ban or the ensuing controversy surrounding Murray’s career.
“He will be remembered as a member of the great West Indies squad that dominated world cricket for over a decade,” said Skerritt. “David was a gifted wicket-keeper and stylish middle-class batsman. He loved the game of cricket and played with a smile on his face.”
Murray was also part of a family legacy of cricket greatness. His father was legendary West Indies batsman Sir Everton Weekes and Murray’s son, Ricky Hoyte, also became a successful cricketer, representing the Barbados and West Indies ‘A’ team as a wicket-keeper and batsman, according to Cricket West Indies.
“On behalf of Cricket West Indies, I would like to express my sincere condolences to Ricky and other members of David’s family and friends,” Skerritt said in his statement.
