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Jul 2: Cricket's biggest names, most of whom could hear only stories of Sir Everton Weekes' exploits from the bygone era, on Thursday remembered the "great" batsman and a "greater human being" in glowing tributes after he died aged 95.

Weekes, who formed the famous three 'Ws' of West Indies cricket alongside Clyde Walcott and Frank Worrell as part of a formidable batting lineup for more than a decade, died on Wednesday.

His death left the cricket world in a state of mourning.

"As one of the remarkable 'Three Ws', along with Sir Clyde Walcott and Sir Frank Worrell, who together struck 39 Test centuries, he played an important hand in a period that marked the rising dominance of West Indies cricket," the ICC said in its obit.

The 1925 Barbados-born Weekes made his Test debut against England in 1948.

"On behalf of CWI I want to publicly express our deepest sympathy to the family of this remarkable Iconic sportsman and gentleman, who passed away earlier today," Cricket West Indies president Ricky Skerritt said in a release.

"I never had the opportunity to see Sir Everton bat, but I had the opportunity to get to know him a little in his later years. I learned about his incredible career by reading about him and looking at old videos when I could.

"His performance stats were excellent as he set tremendously high standards for his time."

In his career, Weekes played 48 Test matches and made 4,455 runs at an average of 58.61 per innings. That included a world-record five consecutive centuries in 1948 — scores of 141 against England in Jamaica, followed by knocks of 128, 194, 162 and 101 in India. In his next innings in Madras, he made 90 when he was controversially run out.

Skerritt added, "... Sir Everton was, therefore, a most amazing pioneer in West Indies cricket; a gentleman and quite simply a wonderful human being."

The modern-day cricketers also mourned his death and paid moving tributes.

Former India captain Anil Kumble tweeted, "Saddened to hear about the passing of WI legend Sir. Everton Weekes. Had met him during the ICC conference in Barbados. He remembered a conversation we had during his time as a match referee. Condolences to his family and friends."

Kumble's former India teammate VVS Laxman wrote, "Heard about the passing away of West Indies legend, Sir Everton Weekes. He was one of the greats of the game. My condolences to his family and loved ones."

Mike Atherton, the opener who led England in the 1990s, was also disappointed to know of the legend's passing away.

"Very sad to learn of the passing of Sir Everton Weekes. A humble man who wore his greatness lightly."

Former West Indies pacer Ian Bishop said, "I had the great privilege of spending time in the company of Sir Everton on several occasions over the past 2 decades. Never once did I leave his presence without feeling a sense (of) warmth, cheerfulness & having learnt something rich & endearing each time. A truly great human being. The Marylebone Cricket Club said in a statement: "Everyone at MCC and Lord's are saddened at the news of Sir Everton Weekes' passing,"

"He will forever be remembered as one of the West Indies' finest cricketers."

Former India player and current coach Ravi Shastri said, "Saddened by passing away of Sir Everton Weekes who was the last of the famous 'Three Ws'. A true humble great of the game. My thoughts and prayers are with Sir Weekes' family and fans in this hour of grief. RIP Sir Folded hands."

All three -- Walcott and Worrell, Weekes -- were born within a couple of miles of one another - within 18 months in Barbados between August 1924 and January 1926, and all made their Test debuts within three weeks in early 1948.

Worrell died in 1967 and Walcott in 2006.

Weekes' average of 58.61 runs places him along with George Headley in the top 10 Test averages of all time.

Darren Sammy, who captained West Indies few years ago, took to Twitter and wrote, "We lost a legend today. Sir Everton Weekes is part of @windiescricket great history and legacy. He also was a great human being. Condolences goes out to his family. May he Rest In Peace."

Potchefstroom, Feb 9: Defending champions India are overwhelming favourites to win a record fifth U19 World Cup title on Sunday but a tough fight is expected from first-timers Bangladesh in an all-Asian final.

If the India squad for the 2018 edition had the likes of Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill, who have expectedly gone on to play for the senior team, the exploits of opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, spinner Ravi Bishnoi and pacer Kartik Tyagi in the current edition have made them overnight stars.

Irrespective of what happens in the final, India have reinforced the fact that they are undisputed leaders at the under-19 level and the cricketing structure the BCCI has developed is working better than any other board in the world.

India, who walloped arch-rivals Pakistan by 10 wickets in the semifinal Tuesday, will be playing their seventh final since 2000 when they lifted the trophy for the first time.

Having said that, success at the U-19 level doesn’t guarantee success at the highest level as not all players have the ability to go on and play for India. Some also lose their way like Unmukt Chand did after leading India to the title in 2012.

His career promised so much back then but now it has come to a stage where he is struggling to make the eleven in Uttarakhand’s Ranji Trophy team, having shifted base from Delhi last year.

Only the exceptionally talented like Shaw and Gill get to realise their dream as the competition is only getting tougher in the ever-improving Indian cricket.

India probably is the only side which fields a fresh squad in every U-19 World Cup edition and since there is no dearth of talent and a proper structure is in place, the talent keeps coming up.

“The fact that we allow a cricketer to play the U-19 World Cup only once is a big reason behind the team’s success. While most teams have cricketers who have played in the previous edition,” India U-19 fielding coach Abhay Sharma said from Potchefstroom.

“It just goes to show that the system under the visionary leadership of Rahul Dravid (NCA head) is flourishing. Credit to BCCI as well that other teams want to follow our structure.”

Heading to the mega event, India colts played about 30-odd games in different part of the world. To get used to the South African conditions, they played a quadrangular series before they played their World Cup opener against Sri Lanka.

In the final, India run into Bangladesh, a team which too has reaped the benefits of meticulous planning since their quarterfinal loss at the 2018 edition.

Though the Priyam Garg-led Indian side got the better of them in the tri-series in England and Asia Cup last year, Bangladesh has always come up with a fight and fielding coach Sharma expects it would be no different Sunday.

They are a very good side. There is a lot of mutual respect. I can tell you that,” he said.

Considering it is their maiden final, it is a bigger game for Bangladesh. If they win, it will be sweet revenge against the sub-continental giants, who have found a way to tame Bangladesh at the senior level in close finals including the 2018 Nidahas Trophy and 2016 World T20.

“We don’t want to take unwanted pressure. India is a very good side. We have to play our ‘A’ game and do well in all three departments. Our fans are very passionate about their cricket. I would want to tell them, keep supporting us,” said Bangladesh skipper Akbar Ali after their semifinal win over New Zealand.

Dubai, Jan 11: India opener KL Rahul has retained the sixth position while skipper Virat Kohli and left-hander Shikhar Dhawan have advanced one place each in the latest ICC Men's T20I player rankings after the conclusion of the series against Sri Lanka.

India won the T20I series 2-0 with one match getting washed out. Rahul, the highest-ranked Indian batsman, has gained 26 points and is now at the sixth spot with 760 rating points.

Rahul is just six points behind Australia's Glenn Maxwell after scores of 45 and 54 in his two innings against Sri Lanka.

Kohli, top-ranked in Tests and ODIs, is in the ninth position while Dhawan is on 15th. Manish Pandey has advanced four places and is ranked at the 70th.

India's fast bowlers have made notable gains in the first T20I update of the year and would be encouraged as they prepare for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia.

Player of the series Navdeep Saini has rocketed from 146 places to 98th while Shardul Thakur has re-entered in 92nd position after both finished with five wickets in the series. Jaspreet Bumrah has gained eight places to reach the 39th position.

For Sri Lanka, Dhananjaya de Silva has gained 72 places to reach 115th among batsmen after aggregating 74 runs while spinner Lakshan Sandakan has moved up 10 places to reach 29th position after grabbing three wickets in the series.

In the ICC Men's team rankings, India have gained two points but remain at fifth position with 260 points, while Sri Lanka have lost two points and now have 236 points and are at the eighth spot.