Alvin Kallicharran: Difference between revisions

Alvin Kallicharran, BEM
	Kallicharran in 2013
Personal information
Full name	Alvin Isaac Kallicharran
Born	21 March 1949 (age 75); Georgetown, Demerara, British Guiana
Nickname	Kalli
Height	1.64 m (5 ft 5 in)
Batting	Left-handed
Bowling	Right-arm off break
Role	Batsman
Relations	Derek Kallicharran (brother); Mahendra Nagamootoo (nephew)
International information
National side	West Indies;
Test debut (cap 144)	6 April 1972 v New Zealand
Last Test	4 January 1981 v Pakistan
ODI debut (cap 7)	5 September 1973 v England
Last ODI	4 February 1981 v England
Domestic team information
1966/67–1980/81	Guyana
1971–1990	Warwickshire
1972/73–1973/74	Berbice
1977/78	Queensland
1981/82–1983/84	Transvaal
1984/85–1987/88	Orange Free State
Career statistics
	Source: ESPNcricinfo, 2 July 2013

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Revision as of 22:48, 18 July 2020

Alvin Isaac Kallicharran BEM (born 21 March 1949) is a former cricketer of Indo-Guyanese ethnicity who played Test cricket for the West Indies between 1972 and 1981.

Kallicharran was born in Georgetown, British Guiana (now Guyana). His brother Derek played first class cricket for Guyana and later the United States of America.

A left-handed batsman and right-arm off spinner, Kallicharran was known for his elegant, watchful batting style.^{[citation needed]} He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year for 1983. He was part of the 1975 and 1979 teams that won the Cricket World Cup. His highest score is 187 against India in the 1978–79 tour. He also found success with Warwickshire in English County cricket. While playing against minor county Oxfordshire in the 1984 one day Natwest Trophy he scored 206 and took 6 for 32.^[1]

One of his most noted international innings, a knock of 158 against England, was shrouded in controversy when he was run out by Tony Greig on the final ball of the first day. He attempted to join World Series Cricket, but failed, and was appointed captain of the West Indies in 1977–1978 when Clive Lloyd resigned over the Packer issue.

Kallicharan was later involved in further controversy when he led an unofficial rebel tour to South Africa in defiance of the Gleneagles Agreement and anti-apartheid protesters in that country who asserted that official sporting structures were discriminatory. He saw out the rest of his career playing for Orange Free State and Transvaal in South African domestic cricket.

Presently, Kallicharran lives with his wife, Patsy,^[2] and is involved in coaching cricket among youth. He was awarded the British Empire Medal in the 2019 New Year's Honours List for services to cricket and charity.

References

^ "Warwickshire v Oxfordshire at Birmingham, 4 Jul 1984". Uk.cricinfo.com. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
^ "Alvin Kallicharran signs up to join the 'London Ambassadors' at". 28 October 2010. Retrieved 17 July 2020.

External links

Alvin Kallicharran at ESPNcricinfo

Preceded by Clive Lloyd	West Indies Test cricket captains 1977/8–1978/9	Succeeded by Deryck Murray

[1] "Warwickshire v Oxfordshire at Birmingham, 4 Jul 1984". Uk.cricinfo.com. Retrieved 19 January 2012.

[2] "Alvin Kallicharran signs up to join the 'London Ambassadors' at". 28 October 2010. Retrieved 17 July 2020.

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 18: / Line 18: @@
 | bowling            = Right-arm [[off break]]
 | role               = Batsman
-| family             = [[Patsy Kallicharran]] (Wife)
+| family             = [[Derek Kallicharran]] (brother)<br />[[Mahendra Nagamootoo]] (nephew)
 | international      = true
 | testdebutdate      = 6 April
@@ Line 107: / Line 107: @@
 '''Alvin Isaac Kallicharran''' {{post-nominals|BEM}} (born 21 March 1949) is a former [[cricket]]er of [[Indo-Guyanese]] ethnicity who played [[Test cricket]] for the [[West Indies cricket team|West Indies between]] 1972 and 1981.
-Kallicharran was born in [[Georgetown, Guyana|Georgetown]], [[British Guiana]] (now [[Guyana]]).
+Kallicharran was born in [[Georgetown, Guyana|Georgetown]], [[British Guiana]] (now [[Guyana]]). His brother [[Derek Kallicharran|Derek]] played first class cricket for Guyana and later the United States of America.
 A left-handed batsman and right-arm off spinner, Kallicharran was known for his elegant, watchful batting style.{{citation needed|date=January 2012}} He was a ''[[Wisden Cricketers' Almanack|Wisden]]'' [[Wisden Cricketers of the Year|Cricketer of the Year]] for 1983. He was part of the 1975 and 1979 teams that won the Cricket World Cup. His highest score is 187 against India in the 1978–79 tour. He also found success with [[Warwickshire County Cricket Club|Warwickshire]] in [[County Championship|English County cricket]]. While playing against [[Minor counties of English cricket|minor county]] [[Oxfordshire County Cricket Club|Oxfordshire]] in the 1984 [[Limited overs cricket|one day]] [[ECB Trophy|Natwest Trophy]] he scored 206 and took 6 for 32.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1980S/1984/ENG_LOCAL/NWT/WARWICKS_OXON_NWT_04JUL1984.html |title=Warwickshire v Oxfordshire at Birmingham, 4 Jul 1984 |publisher=Uk.cricinfo.com |date= |accessdate=19 January 2012}}</ref>
@@ Line 116: / Line 116: @@
 Presently, Kallicharran lives with his wife, Patsy,<ref>{{Cite web|date=2010-10-28|title=Alvin Kallicharran signs up to join the 'London Ambassadors' at|url=http://ww.standard.co.uk/news/alvin-kallicharran-signs-up-to-join-the-london-ambassadors-at-olympics-6529662.html|access-date=17 July 2020}}</ref> and is involved in coaching cricket among youth. He was awarded the [[British Empire Medal]] in the 2019 New Year's Honours List for services to cricket and charity.
-Summary
-Alvin Kallicharran is probably best-remembered as a legendary world-class cricketer who captained the West Indies in the 1970s and was one of the world’s best batsmen of the decade. He is widely remembered as a batting legend of poise and elegance. However, since his playing career ended in 1990, he has developed an equally impressive second career – he has dedicated himself to promoting cricket at a grass-roots level as a way of giving back. He has also worked tirelessly for charity in the UK and overseas. He is Patron of the United Anglo-Caribbean Society, Ambassador for American College Cricket and Brand Ambassador for UITV Connect.
-Professional Cricket Career
-Alvin made his cricketing debut in 1972 and burst onto the international arena immediately, when he made an unbeaten 100 against the visiting New Zealand side at Guyana in his first Test. He followed it up with another century in the next Test, which marked the beginning of a distinguished career. He became a regular member of the legendary West Indies team for the next decade, and was the Wisden player of the Year in 1983. He was also a member of the West Indies sides which won the World Cups in 1975 and 1979.
-During his career, Alvin played 66 Test matches, scoring 4,399 runs at an average of 44.43, and 12 centuries, and 31 One Day Internationals for the West Indies from 1972 to 1981. He scored centuries in his first and second Test matches – a feat few have accomplished. In his-first class career, he played 505 matches, scoring 32,650 runs at an average of 43.64, with 87 centuries and 160 50s, while in his one-day career he played 383 matches, scoring another 11,336 runs, with an average of 34.66, and 15 hundreds and 71 half-centuries.
-He played county cricket for Warwickshire from 1972 to 1992, ending in his early 40s. In between and afterwards, he played with Transvaal and Orange Free State in South Africa in the 1980s. He also played for the state team Queensland Australia in the 1977/78 season. After playing for Warwickshire, he did some cricket consultancy and coaching around the world, and then became the player/manager for ten years with the Lashings in Kent.
-Road to captaincy
-In 1977, Alvin signed up to join the World Series Cricket (WSC), a break-away professional cricket competition organised by the Australian media tycoon, Kerry Packer. The matches ran in opposition to established international cricket. Although short-lived, World Series Cricket drastically changed the nature of cricket, and its influence continues to be felt today in events such as day/night cricket. Day/night cricket, also known as Floodlit cricket, is a cricket match that is played either totally or partially under floodlights in the evening. The first regular cricket to be played under floodlights occurred during the World Series Cricket, and attracted large crowds to see some of the world's best players compete in Australia and the West Indies. In 1979, when the ICC and World Series Cricket came to an understanding, the first floodlit One Day International was played, also in Australia. Floodlit cricket has since been played around the world.
-Day/night cricket is now commonplace in one-day cricket, and in October 2012 the International Cricket Council allowed day/night Test matches. The first day/night game took place between Australia and New Zealand at the Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, in 2015, 36 years to the day from the first ICC-sanctioned day/night matches.
-Unfortunately, Alvin discovered that he was in breach of another contract with a Queensland radio station and had to withdraw from the Series. Another reason why he did not go to Australia with Packer is that Warwickshire County Cricket Club told him that if he went, they would withdraw his employment, and with it any support for his ongoing application for British citizenship. He had been in favour of the break-away tour not, as some have said, because of the money, but because of what it would do for the sport.
-Later that year, Alvin was appointed captain of the West Indies when Clive Lloyd resigned over the Packer issue. He took on the captaincy and went on tour to India, where they played six Test matches, and lost only one – an amazing result for a depleted team. By late 1979 the Packer issue was resolved and Packer cricket was disbanded. Alvin was dropped as captain without notice and Clive Lloyd resumed the West Indies Test captaincy for the tour to Australia. Alvin scored a century in the third Test, to help West Indies win the series 2-0. This proved to be his last century, or half century, in Test cricket. Following two lean series, in England and Pakistan in 1980, Alvin was dropped by the West Indies.
-South Africa – resisting apartheid
-In 1983, Alvin joined the rebel tour of South Africa in breach of the Gleneagles Agreement over the country’s apartheid regime. As a result, he was banned by the West Indies. However, even though he needed the money to feed his family, as he was not receiving any money during the winter, this was not his motivating force. He believed he could make some impact, however small, on the lives of black people in South Africa. While there, Alvin never socialised with white people but spent most of his spare time coaching cricket in the Soweto townships. He was trying to close the gap and raise the spirits of the people who were oppressed by the regime.
-He said at the time:
-“I don’t know South Africa. All I know is that it is a racially divided country. Apartheid does exist, and we thought it can help improve relationships among people after what has happened in South Africa. And here is me, without a job, not selected to go to Australia. So, if I am sitting in winter and not doing anything – and in those days we don’t earn enough money to live – I might as well go to South Africa to play for Transvaal as an individual. Then there was this agent in Barbados who said they were putting together a West Indies team to tour South Africa.”
-Anti-apartheid campaigners saw the West Indies tour as a bigger betrayal by a group of black players then by white, but they were failing to see the hope that this group of men could bring to the townships. No player in that squad thought he could end apartheid, but many took great joy in getting into the townships and coaching.
-Lashings World X1
-Alvin has always taken on challenges which were outside the normal route – and has made a huge impact because of them. His time at Lashings was no different. The scratch team was founded in 1984 and was little more than a pub side. But owner David Folb had big ambitions and managed to secure another former West Indies Captain, Richie Richardson, who had just retired, to play for them. In spite of much derision, the club went on to great success. Alvin joined in 2001 and stayed until 2009. During that time the team went on a pioneering tour to Abu Dhabi, playing the United Arab Emirates at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium used for the Pakistan v England series. He is remembered by the club as a fantastic player who was held in great esteem.
-Coaching career
-In 1997, Alvin Kallicharran was appointed the national cricket coach for Kenya. The team – most of whom were part-timers at the time, could not believe that a player of such legendary status was coming to their country. They had made their first appearance in the World Cup in 1996, which was held in Pakistan, but were worried about the conditions of the pitch in England for 1999. Alvin worked to prepare them for handling the conditions on British pitches. He also introduced greater professionalism, and by the end of his tenure, most of the players were full-time professionals. He made cricket a serious career choice for young Kenyan players. His contract was extended for another year after it was due to expire.
-One member of the national team at the time, Jimmy Kawande, remembers the time well:
-“I was a young man, and for someone like me, during my first time in an international arena, he was a great supporter who inspired all of us to work hard. He helped us a lot and encouraged many youngsters to come forward to play for their national side. He encouraged us to continue playing. He was a legend; a great batsman who has played at the highest level and is respected all over the world. My time under him is something I will never forget, and I will always be thankful because he gave me a chance. He’s a great man.”
-Sport Relief 2006
-Alvin was one of 13 celebrities selected to represent the Sports Relief Red Socks on a visit to India to raise awareness of Sport Relief in 2006. He was the team coach, Jack Russell was behind the stumps with Phil Tufnell as captain; the team also included Chris Evans and Nick Hancock. They played three charity cricket matches. In between, they visited an orphanage in Cuddalore populated by survivors of the 2004 tsunami, met the 'Railway Children' of Villapurum, and joined the youngsters of Chennai who sift through the excrement, snakes, rats and hypodermic syringes on a steaming rubbish tip searching for plastic bottles and old sacks they can sell for scraps of food. Sport Relief raised £16 million that year.
-London 2012 Ambassador
-In 2010, Alvin signed up to become an ambassador for the 2012 Olympic Games. He said he knew how important it was for visitors to be greeted by friendly, well-informed and helpful local people. He quickly became the poster-boy of the recruitment campaign.
-Explaining his reasons for signing up, Alvin said:
-"I have travelled the world playing cricket. I know how important it is when you arrive in a foreign country to be greeted by friendly, well-informed and helpful local people. It's this experience I'd like to bring to the Olympics. It's nice to contribute something because this country has been good to me. I feel very much a Londoner, and when something big happens like the Olympics you want to share in the excitement."
-Helping elderly African Caribbean People
-I (Patsy Kallicharran) was looking for volunteering opportunities in London and decided to become a befriender for the United Anglo Caribbean Society. It is a charity which offers support and advice to older people of African Caribbean heritage. We provide a healthy, balanced meal four days a week, as well as recreational and cultural activities. I became a member and later a trustee. When Alvin heard about what the charity was doing, he immediately offered to help. He is such a big name for West Indians that even the promise of his presence at an event can increase tickets sales enormously. Whenever he is in the country, Alvin comes along to fundraising events such as the annual dinner dance. When we held an event to celebrate West Indian cricket, Alvin persuaded many other legendary players, including Chris Lewis, Phil Simons and Jimmy Adams, to come along, which made it a truly memorable evening.
-In 2004, the Society asked Alvin to become Patron, a role which he readily accepted and has held ever since. He gives freely of his time because these people supported him when he was a young player, and he has never forgotten this, and wants to give something back.
-Summary
-What Alvin achieved in his cricketing career as a small man from Guyana of Indian heritage is nothing short of miraculous. He was not the first player of Indian origin to make the team, but the path was not straightforward. The words used to describe him are always superlative: the world’s best batsman; legendary; outstanding. However, this represents only one half of his life. On retiring from playing he pledged to devote himself to giving something back, to demonstrate his gratitude for the opportunities life had afforded him. He has been doing this in two ways: through promoting cricket at grass-roots level and travelling the world coaching young players. He is also a motivational speaker.
-He published his autobiography “Colour Blind” in 2019. Alvin and his wife Patsy Kallicharran spend their time between Raleigh NC and London, UK.
-He was awarded the British Empire Medal in the 2019 Queen’s New Year's Honors List for services to cricket and charity.
-Website: www.Alvinkallicharran.com
 ==References==