West Indies Cricket Fans

ICC chief executive David Richardson expressed his sadness on hearing the news that former England captain and respected commentator Tony Greig had passed away in Sydney today.

Mr Richardson said: “This is extremely sad news for cricket and the ICC send their condolences to Tony’s family and in particular his wife Vivian. Tony played a significant part in shaping modern cricket as a player in the 1970s and then provided millions of cricket lovers with a unique insight as a thoughtful and knowledgeable commentator – primarily for the Nine Network in Australia.

“I met with him on several occasions during the recent ICC World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka where he was a senior commentator for our broadcast partner ESS. He was also a regular visitor to the ICC offices in Dubai when commentating for Ten Sports. I am sure that I will not be alone in saying that he and his wise words will be missed by cricketers, administrators and spectators around the world."

Tony Greig played 58 Tests for England and was captain between 1975 and 1977 before joining World Series Cricket. Mr Richardson added: “His figures in Test matches show that he was one of the leading all-rounders of his generation with a batting average of above 40 and a bowling average around 32.”

RIP Tony Greig....

Yes, he became infamous for his "grovel" comment, made worse by his apartheid South African origins. But that was before the WI players got to know him. To give him credit, he actually did some grovelling at the end of the series.

Then, he lined up Holding's first county contract, and paved the way for WI players to take part in the Packer WSC. That revolutionised WI cricket, and led to the WIndies dominating cricket for the next decade.

He wasn't as bad as that "grovel" comment made him out to be....

Tony was a bossman in the commentary box...

RIP Tony! I was shocked to hear of Tony's passing. If memory served me right, he was the one who started holding the bat up high (off the ground) to help combat the faster bowlers.

Besides the groveling comment, he was also "famous" for the Kallicharran run out at QPO at the end of the day's play. I am sure everyone remembers that incident.

Greig did many great things for cricket! Hats off to him.

Googley wrote:RIP Tony! I was shocked to hear of Tony's passing. If memory served me right, he was the one who started holding the bat up high (off the ground) to help combat the faster bowlers.

Besides the groveling comment, he was also "famous" for the Kallicharran run out at QPO at the end of the day's play. I am sure everyone remembers that incident.

Greig did many great things for cricket! Hats off to him.

I'd actually fortgotten about that run-out of Kalli...thanks for that.

I think he was reinstated overnight, IIRC. The first and only time I've heard of someone run out at stumps, because he was walking off at the end of the day!

Yes, Kalli was reinstated or QPO would have been a war zone!!

however, he did not last long the next day.

The interesting fact that Kalli was indeed out, according to the laws of the game. The umpire did not call end of play and the ball was still considered in play when he walked off! Greig saw him out of this crease and threw the stumps down. Greig did nothing wrong.

However, the folks at QPO saw it differently.