Wavell Hinds: 10 facts about the Jamaican who could not ‘make-hay’

Wavell Wayne Hinds, born September 7, 1976 was a reliable West Indies opening left handed batsman who generated a lot of power with his quick, hard arms. The Jamaican born, played 119 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and scored 2880 runs at 28.51. He also played in 45 Tests in which he scored 2608 runs at 33.01. Ankit Banerjee rolls out the 10 aspects that stood out in a career of mediocrity.

 

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1.  Surprise, surprise!

Wavell Hinds was a surprise choice as opener for the last Test in Port of Spain of what had been a disastrous tour of Australia in 2000–01. He was asked to open and batting with Sherwin Campbell.

2.  Quick off the blocks…

Hinds made his Test debut against Zimbabwe in 2000. In just his fourth Test match he scored 165 against Pakistan.

3.  Two to tango:

It so happened that our protagonist got another go in 2004 and he made the most of it in tandem with Chris Gayle. They formed a decent pair who enjoyed a fair share of success. In Tests they put on 1300 runs together at 39.39 in 33 innings. Their ODI opening partnership saw them make 1687 runs at 41.15.

4.  Exploring the wild

Like most hailing from Jamaica, they grow up in the lap of nature, exotic beaches and tropical forests and there is that crave for more. Hinds, loves the wilderness. He is an adventurer from heart and that is a beautiful aspect about this Jamaican.

5.  Double Whammy

In 2003 he slammed consecutive ODI tons against Australia at Grenada, both unbeaten and both accounting for victories for West Indies.

6.  Double hundred

At Georgetown in 2005, he got his first double century against a strong South African side. He scored 213. In the same match Shivnarine Chanderpaul scored a double hundred too.

7.  Sour on the palate

As the chief of West Indies Players Association (WIPA), Hinds had feud with the then West Indian skipper Dwayne Bravo. It intensified during West Indies tour of India in 2014 and the players pulled off. Dwayne, who on the part was putting forth the players’ argument against the fact over the pay structure and that Hinds should step down also because he was holding on to two portfolios.

8.  County call

At the fag-end of his career he did play for an England county side Derbyshire and then just faded away into the archives from there.

9.  A rare feat

Hinds and Sadagoppan Ramesh took wickets with the first balls of their ODI careers. They happen to be the only players to do so.

 

10.  Indian Cricket League

He was one of those who featured in the ICL league. For a brief period, he played for Ahmedabad Rockets.

(A cricket geek to the tee, Ankit Banerjee smokes and snorts it all day long. The romance with the sport incepted since the 1996 World Cup semi-final. He is a winner of the 2011 edition of the All-India college cricket quiz.)