George Headley      

Wisden obituary
George Alphonso Headley MBE, who died in Jamaica on November 30, 1983, aged 74, was the first of the great black batsmen to emerge from the West Indies. Between the wars, when the West Indies batting was often vulnerable and impulsive, Headley's scoring feats led to his being dubbed the black Bradman. His devoted admirers responded by calling Bradman the white Headley - a pardonable exaggeration.

In 22 Tests, when the innings could stand or fall on his performance, Headley scored 2190 runs, including 10 centuries - eight against England - with an average of 60.83. He was the first to score a hundred in each innings of a Test at Lord's, in 1939, and it was a measure of his ability that from 1929 to 1939 he did not have a single bad Test series. By the start of the Second World War he had totalled 9532 runs in first-class cricket with an average of 72.21. Afterwards, though not the power that he had been, he extended his aggregate to 9921 runs, with 33 centuries and an average of 69.86.

Born in Panama, where his father had helped to build the Canal, Headley was taken to Jamaica at the age of 10 to perfect his English - Spanish had been his first tongue - and to prepare to study dentistry in America. At school he fell in love with cricket, but he might still have been lost to the game had there not been a delay in getting his passport for the United States. While he was waiting, Headley was chosen to play against a visiting English team captained by the Hon. LH Tennyson. Though not yet 19, he had innings of 78 in the first match and 211 in the second, and dentistry lost a student. Surprisingly he was not chosen for the 1928 tour of England immediately afterwards, but in the home series against England in 1929-30 he scored 703 runs in eight Test innings, averaging 87.80. His scores included 21 and 176 in his first Test, 114 and 112 in the third and 223 in the fourth. In 1930-31 in Australia he scored two more Test centuries and ended the tour with 1066 runs.

Clarrie Grimmett described Headley as the strongest on-side player he had ever bowled against. In 1932, in a single month, he hit 344 not out (his highest-ever score), 84, 155 not out and 140 against another English side to visit Jamaica. Against sterner opposition and in more difficult conditions in England in the following year, he averaged 66 for the tour, scoring a century on his first appearance at Lord's and taking 224 not out off Somerset. In the second Test, in Manchester, he made 169 not out, a score he improved upon with 270 not out in Kingston in the 1934-35 series.

Headley was of medium build, compact, balanced and light on his feet. Like most great batsmen he was a superb back-foot player and seldom made a hurried shot. Sir Leonard Hutton, who saw him at his best in 1939, declared he had never seen a batsman play the ball later. It was hard to set a field for him, such was his genius for collecting runs with his precise placement of the ball.

Headley also excelled in league cricket in England. At every level of the game, in fact, he scored an avalanche of runs with a style and brilliance few of any age have matched. His contribution to the strength and power of modern West Indies teams cannot be exaggerated. One of his sons, RGA, an opening batsman for Worcestershire and Derbyshire, played twice for West Indies in England in 1973, and his grandson Dean played Test cricket for England.
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack

• May 30, 1909
  Panama's only Test cricketer
  • Headley is born in an unusual country for a future Test captain, Panama, where his father is working on the construction of the Panama Canal.
    
• 1919
  Spiritual home, real home
  • At the age of 10, he moves to Jamaica, to learn English. Spanish has been his first tongue so far, but he is now preparing to study dentistry in America.
    
• February 1928
  Dentistry's loss, cricket's gain
  • Falls in love with cricket during his time in Jamaica. In 1928, is about to leave for America to study dentistry, but some confusion over his papers delays the departure. While waiting, he plays a few matches against the visiting LH Tennyson's XI, scoring 16 and 71 on first-class debut. A stunning double-century in the second match convinces him to give up dentistry and concentrate on cricket.
    
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• January 11, 1930
  Worth the wait
  • Is not part of West Indies' first-ever Test, on the 1928 tour to England, but duly comes in during England's return tour to the Caribbean. Scores 21 and 176 on debut, followed by his first double-century, in the fourth and final Test, ending up with 703 runs at 87.8.
    
• February 27, 1931
  Thousand runs in no time
  • During his century in Sydney, he becomes the third-quickest man, at the time, to 1000 Test runs, reaching the milestone in 17 innings.
    
• February-March 1932
  Tennyson's side suffers again
  • Tennyson tours the Caribbean again, and Headley records scores of 344 not out, 84, 155 not out and 140. Tennyson says: "I cannot recollect such perfection of timing nor variety of shots..." That triple-century is then the highest first-class score by a West Indian.
    
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• 1933
  Shows his wares in the mother country
  • In the England season, Headley scores 2320 runs, more than twice as many as the next best batsman. Wisden names him the Cricketer of the Year next year.
    
• June 24-27, 1939
  Doing HQ
  • Becomes the first man to score two centuries in a Lord's Test, and only the second man then to manage the feat on two occasions. Also during the Test, he becomes the second-quickest man to 2000 runs, beating Wally Hammond but falling behind Don Bradman. The world calls him the Black Bradman; in the West Indies they call Bradman the white Headley.
    
• 1939-1948
  Career interrupted
  • The war deprives the cricketing world of what should have been the best years of Headley. Does not play in a Test match again until he is 39.
    
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• January 21, 1948
  Black is in
  • Becomes the first black man to captain West Indies when he leads them in the Barbados Test. Scores 29 and 7 not out in a draw, but an injury cuts his captaincy career to one Test.
    
• January 15-21, 1954
  Dimly fades George
  • Plays only one Test in the next six years before he is recalled on public demand for a farewell Test. He is welcomed with an ecstasy of applause by the Jamaica crowd. England spread the field and gave him a single, a fact he acknowledges by doffing his cap. Ends a glorious career with 16 and 1, and bows out quietly.
    
• Life after cricket
  The legacy
  • Stays away from the limelight after his retirement, and dies aged 74 in 1983. His son Ron and grandson Dean go on to represent England in Tests.
    
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• 21 and 176 v England, Barbados, 1929-30
  • A much-anticipated debut after Headley's impressive showing against LH Tennyson's touring side to Jamaica. The anticipation rose after he was not picked for West Indies' first-ever Test tour, to England. Now in the first Test of England's return tour, West Indies found themselves trailing by 98 runs in the first innings. Against an attack featuring legendary left-armers of both varieties, Bill Voce and Wilfred Rhodes, Headley scored 176 out of a second innings of 384, which was enough to stall England. In four attempts, this was the first time West Indies came out of a Test undefeated.
    
• 114 and 112 v England, Georgetown, 1929-30
  • After having assured West Indies' first draw, Headley played a major role in their first-ever win, in only his third Test. Through a 192-run stand with Clifford Roach, who scored a double-century, Headley set up a big first innings. The bowlers did their job, but with his team struggling in the second innings, Headley became the first West Indian to score centuries in each innings of a Test, and bats England out. The result is a 289-run win.
    
• 10 and 223 v England, Jamaica, 1929-30
  • West Indies were level with England going into the last Test of the series, and it was agreed to have a timeless Test. Andy Sandham became the first man to score a triple-century, as England piled up a massive 849 in the first innings and bowled West Indies out for 286. They chose to not enforce the follow-on, and set West Indies 836 to get. In the face of a near-impossible task, Headley scored 223 in only six-and-a-half hours, hitting 28 fours, taking West Indies to the end of the seventh day. Rain intervened for the next two days, and England were due to return for their home summer next day, letting West Indies finish the series on level terms.
    
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• 105 and 30 v Australia, Sydney, 1930-31
  • West Indies' captain, Jackie Grant, made two shrewd declarations on a wet pitch to win the timeless Sydney Test. And it was made possible by an aggressive Headley, who scored 105 in 146 minutes on the first morning, an innings that made him then the third-quickest to 1000 runs. Grant declared on the second afternoon, with the wet pitch having become difficult under the hot sun and 350 on the board. The move worked, securing them a 12-run lead, and they declared again with only 124 in the second innings, to win by 30 runs. Clarrie Grimmett, the great legspinner, called Headley the strongest on-side player he had bowled against.
    
• 44 v England, Barbados, 1934-35
  • A pitch reportedly unfit for play. Wally Hammond called his 43 and 29 not out in the same Test the most difficult he had played. In such conditions, where West Indies' first innings of 102 was the highest of all four efforts, Headley scored 44 in two hours, working hard for every run on a wet pitch. Run out thanks to wicketkeeper Cyril Christiani, Headley and West Indies couldn't quite capitalise on the 21-run first-innings lead, reversing their order and losing six wickets in 19 second-innings overs, before declaring and going on to lose by four wickets.
    
• 270 not out v England, Jamaica, 1934-35
  • Back at his home ground, Sabina Park, Headley set up West Indies' first series win against England. In the final Test, Headley set the pace on the first morning, coming in at 5 for 1. In scoring what was then the highest individual score for a West Indian, and also setting up their highest total, Headley gave a truly wonderful display. He proved himself master of all the strokes in an innings lasting nearly eight hours and a quarter. He figured in two notable partnerships, adding 202 for the third wicket with Derek Sealey and 147 for the seventh with Rolph Grant. Manny Martindale and Learie Connstantine took 13 wickets between them, and Headley didn't need to bat again.
    
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• 106 and 107 v England, Lord's, 1939
  • Back to waging lone battles, but this one was a personal triumph, in that Headley became the first man to score two centuries in a Lord's Test. He received little assistance on the first morning; the occasion demanded discretion, and in the interests of his side he refused to take the slightest risk. Few cricketers watched the ball so closely on to the bat, and most of his strokes were played very late off the back foot. Yet his drives and hooks were extremely powerful, and his strong wrists responsible for some dazzling cuts. Headley scored 106 out of 277, West Indies fell behind by 127, and Headley managed 107 out of 225 in a disappointing second innings.
    
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