The West Indies Team
The West Indies team was captained by Rohan Kanhai, who had succeeded Gary Sobers as captain for the Australian series in the West Indies the previous winter.
The West Indies side had dropped back in form from its peak in the mid 1960s, with the retirement of its great fast bowlers Charlie Griffith and Wes Hall and some of its leading batsmen, such as Conrad Hunte and Basil Butcher. The period under Sobers' captaincy after the series victory in England in 1966 was not particularly successful, and Test series against England were lost in 1967-68 and in 1969. India won in the West Indies in 1970-71, and the first-ever New Zealand tour to the West Indies in 1971-72 produced a series in which all five Tests were drawn.
Sobers' handing over of the captaincy to Kanhai did not bring a change of fortune. Australia won the 1972-73 Test series by two matches to nil with three draws to retain the Frank Worrell Trophy that Bill Lawry had won by beating Sobers' side in 1968-69. As England had beaten Australia in Australia in 1970-71 and had retained The Ashes in a drawn series in 1972, the West Indians were regarded in 1973 as the underdogs for the series against England.
The original side for the 1973 tour was:
- Rohan Kanhai, captain
- Lance Gibbs, vice-captain
- Keith Boyce
- Steve Camacho
- Maurice Foster
- Roy Fredericks
- Vanburn Holder
- Inshan Ali
- Bernard Julien
- Alvin Kallicharran
- Clive Lloyd
- David Murray, wicketkeeper
- Deryck Murray, wicketkeeper
- Lawrence Rowe
- Grayson Shillingford
- Elquemedo Willett
Camacho was injured in the second first-class match of the tour and took no further part. Lawrence Rowe had strained ligaments in the previous winter's series against Australia and withdrew from the tour when it was apparent that the injury was not getting better. Camacho was replaced by Ron Headley, highly experienced in English conditions from a long career at Worcestershire. Gary Sobers, who opted out of the tour after knee surgery and played the 1973 English cricket season instead with Nottinghamshire, was drafted in for the three Test matches.
Of the starting tour party, only David Murray, Inshan Ali and Willett had not toured or played county cricket in England before, and only Julien and David Murray had not played Test cricket. Ron Headley was also new to Test matches in this series.
The touring side was managed by the former West Indies cricketer, Esmond Kentish.
Read more about this topic: West Indian Cricket Team In England In 1973
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