Conrad Hunte, the great West Indian opening batsman who passed away in
Sydney on Friday, had a special connection with India. He toured this
country in 1958-59 and again eight years later, and played against
them at home in 1962. His first tour with the West Indian team was to
this country and he also played the last of his 44 Tests at Madras in
1967. Well after retirement, he visited India more than once in
connection with the Moral Re-armament Movement (MRA) with which he was
closely associated and always had an affinity for people of this
country.
Hunte who made his Test debut against Pakistan at home in 1958 visited
India later that year as a member of Gerry Alexander's side. The
visitors thrashed the Indians in the five match series by 3-0. While
Holt, Sobers, Kanhai, Butcher, Solomon and Smith made a packet of runs
and Hall and Gilchrist moved through the opposition, Hunte could not
recapture the form he had displayed in his debut series, when he had
got a century on debut in the first Test and then scored 260 in the
third Test when with Sobers (365 not out) he put on 446 runs for the
second wicket. In the five Tests, he got only 216 runs from eight
innings with 92 in the final Test at New Delhi as his highest. But
with Holt, he formed a reliable opening pair and the two had stands of
55, 61, 70 and 159 during the series.
Hunte had another poor series against India at home in 1962. Again
while Sobers, Kanhai, McMorris and Worrell were among the runs, Hunte
got only 195 runs at an average of 27.85 with only two sizable knocks
of 58 and 59.
By the time he came again to India in 1966-67, Hunte was nearing the
end of his career. At 34, he was vice captain to Sobers and had been
the sheet anchor of the West Indian batting for almost a decade. But
while he had made seven centuries in all against Australia, England
and Pakistan, he still had to cross the three figure mark after ten
Tests against India. However in the first Test at Bombay, he finally
got his maiden hundred against India when he played the sheet anchor
role to perfection in getting 101 before being fifth out at 242. With
`new boy' Clive Lloyd, he added 110 runs for the fourth wicket,
encouraging the gangling 22-year-old Test debutant who went on to make
82, the first of his many contributions for West Indies during the
next two decades. In the second innings, he contributed a valuable 40
as West Indies after initial hiccups, finally coasted home to victory
by six wickets, thanks to an unbeaten century stand between Lloyd and
Sobers.
Hunte was run out for 43 in the only West Indian innings in the second
Test at Calcutta. But he is remembered even today for a noble and
courageous gesture. The authorities had oversold the seating
accomodation and disappointed spectators invaded the ground, clashed
with police and set fire to several stands leading to the second day's
play being abandoned. As the rioters went on a spree of looting and
arson, Hunte worked his way up to the top of the pavilion roof where
the flags of the two nations were fluttering. The fire had endangered
the flags but Hunte, showing great presence of mind, took the flags
and carried them away to safety.
In the third Test at Madras, Hunte made 49 and 26, sharing
partnerships of 99 and 63 with Robin Bynoe for the first wicket. In
the three Tests he scored 259 runs at an average of 51.80, thus
improving his overall tally in all Tests against India to 670. He did
not realize it then but the Madras Test was his last game for the West
Indies. Shortly before the start of the following series, against
England in 1967-68, he announced his retirement, pre-occupied as he
already was with his MRA work.