West Indies cricket great David Murray dead at 72
LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) – Former captain of the West Indies team and cricket luminaries like Sir Garfield Sobers and Sir Viv Richards were among the 1,400 mourners who travelled to St Mary’s church near his home in Bridgetown, Barbados, to say a final goodbye to one of the great men of the game.
Murray, a seven-time Test cricketer who took 2,849 wickets in 482 Tests, died at the age of 72 on March 2.
“We have lost a great cricketing legend. He was a fine man, he was a friend and he gave more than one thousand hours to the game,” said Sir Garfield Sobers, a three times World Cup winning captain, who led the West Indies in their 1966 triumph over England.
“There was nothing he didn’t like about cricket, he loved the game deeply. Our condolences go out to his family and his friends.”
For his part, the former Test cricketer, who was born in Bridgetown and still lives there, had been in Britain for the British cricket team’s training camp in Mayfair, with plans to go back home to Barbados.
“It is a great surprise,” said former West Indies great Sir Donald Bradman. “He was a very good man, a very talented and a very able captain. He did a lot for West Indies cricket, helped us a great deal.”
In his native Bridgetown, home to the capital’s only three-hour traffic jam and a large Indian population, Murray is remembered for his strong will, his forthrightness, his drive to be better and his ability to build bridges to a world that was not always friendly.
The Barbadians are not just cricket fans, they are also cricket players. The Barbados Prime Minister, Ralph Gonsalves, took Murray into his cabinet before his second Test match against England in 1967.
“He is the man who will be remembered for what he has done as leader of that cricket team,” Gonsalves said.
“His leadership style was exemplary, he led by example, he set a very high standard in every respect