Runako Morton: 14 lesser-known facts about the late West Indian cricketer

Outside cricket, Morton was amongst the controversial figures from the Caribbean and had a tragic end to his life.

Born July 22, 1978, Runako Shakur Morton was the former international cricketer who represented West Indies cricket team between 2002 and 2010. Morton was said to be a very effortless hard-hitter of the ball but his scoring rate always remained under the scanner as his One-Day International (ODI) strike-rate of 66.36 suggests. Also the cricketer from Nevis was never quite consistent with the bat, which meant he was frequently left out of the squad. Outside cricket, Morton was amongst the controversial figures from the Caribbean and had a tragic end to his life. On his birth anniversary, Abhishek Kumar presents 14 lesser-known facts about the late Caribbean cricketer.

1.  Expelled from academy: In July 2001, before his international debut, Morton got expelled from The Shell Cricket Academy of St. George’s University because of his continuous bad behaviour. The decision of expelling Morton was taken by the management of academy after consulting with West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).

2.  Reason behind Morton getting expelled: The first incident that came to notice was of coming late in the academy following his wedding in Barbados and then he left the academy without informing to meet his wife in Nevis.

3.  International debut: A year later in 2002, Morton got the chance to play for West Indies ODI side in a series against Pakistan in UAE. He got the big break in second ODI of the series in which he failed as he could manage to score only 16 runs while chasing 233.

4.  Lied about his grandmother’s death: Following that series, he was called back again in the West Indies ODI side as a replacement for injured Marlon Samuels to play in ICC Champions Trophy 2002 in Sri Lanka. But Morton made a false excuse of his grandmother’s death; one of whom had already died 16-years ago and the other one was alive. Later, it came into notice that Morton lied to the board and was suspended for a year from all cricket matches held under the aegis of WICB.

5.  Failed in medical test: In December 2003, Morton was not allowed to play in the 2004 Carib-Beer Series after failing in the medical test as the report was positive.

6.  Arrested for stabbing: Just after a month he failed in the medical test, Morton got into another trouble when he was arrested. In January 2004, Morton was arrested after an altercation which ended up in stabbing his cousin who was wounded on the chest. Morton had to spend a day in custody and was bailed later.

7.  His only hundred and that too in a losing cause: On March 1, 2006, during the fourth ODI against New Zealand at Napier, Morton scored the only hundred of his international career while chasing a mammoth total of 325. He was the only batsman to stand at the crease and score some runs for his side but he could not win the match for his team and remained unbeaten till the end as New Zealand beat West Indies by 91 runs.

8.  Involved in a bizarre run out: On March 26, 2006, on the second day of the third Test against New Zealand at Napier, Morton was involved in a bizarre run out incident with his captain. On 52nd over’s final ball, which was bowled outside off by Chris Martin, Morton drove towards mid-on and called for a single. West Indies captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who was at the other end, did not respond. But Morton did not wait for his response and kept running towards the non-striker’s end. In the end, Daniel Vettori from mid-wicket threw the ball to the wicketkeeper and subsequently Morton had to walk back with disappointment. However, he was called back after a replay by the third umpire. Eventually, Chanderpaul was given out.

Going by the logic, Morton should have been out because he walked back without checking with umpire despite the replay showed that his bat came few seconds before Chanderpaul into the crease.

9.  Slowest ODI duck: In the final match of DLF cup against Australia on September 24, 2006 at Kuala Lumpur, Morton once again made headlines for the wrong reasons. He was out for duck while chasing 241 but this was not on ordinary duck as he broke the previous best record of slowest duck in ODI history made by former West Indies batsman Phil Simmons (23 balls in 1994) by facing 31 balls and ending up scoring none.

10.  Verbal exchange with James Anderon: During the second ODI against England at Edgbaston on July 4, 2007, there were some heated verbal exchanges between Morton and Anderson late in the West Indies’ innings. After completing an over, Anderson barged into Morton, dropping his shoulder after the batsman completed his run. In reply, Morton would have probably got into another fight as he showed his bat and moved towards Anderson but thanks to umpire Brian Jerling, who stepped in and kept both the players apart. Soon Morton was dismissed by Ryan Sidebottom but Anderson remains Anderson, as he gave a send-off to him while the batsman was walking back towards the pavilion. Later, Anderson was found guilty and was fined 50% of his match fees.

11.  Arrested for possession marijuana: In March 2011, Morton made his comeback to controversy by getting arrested along with his teammate Tonito Willett for possession of marijuana after a four-day match between Trinidad and Tobago and Leeward Islands.

Further, both were released on bail after the bail amount was paid by the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA).

12.  Tragic death: On March 4, 2012, Morton died in a road accident after crashing into a utility pole. He was also the only occupant of the vehicle.

13.  Tributes from the Caribbean cricketers: Following the news of his death, Darren Sammy donated his match fee, which he was supposed to get by playing against New Zealand, to the family of Morton. Dwayne Bravo tried to raise money for his family through online auction of cricket memorabilia. Besides Bravo and Sammy, Chris Gayle said the entire team will wear his number on shirts.

14.  Morton’s best friend — Universe Boss: Chris Gayle is also known as universe boss and is said to be among the best buddies of Morton. In July 2015, Gayle along with Suleiman Benn and Dwayne Bravo took some time off from their busy schedule of Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and paid a visit to Morton’s grave. Both Gayle and Benn were also seen drinking at his grave.

(Abhishek Kumar is a cricket devotee currently staffing with Criclife.com. He can be followed on Twitter @abhik2593 and on Facebook at abhicricket.kumar)