Desmond Haynes

Desmond Haynes Biography

Desmond Leo Haynes is a former West Indian cricketer and cricket coach who was born on 15 February, 1956 in Saint James, Barbados.

He played as a right handed batsman and a right handed medium pace bowler.

Haynes was the third West Indian to ‘carry his bat’ in a Test innings. He is the only player in international Cricket to achieve this feat three times.

Background

Haynes started playing for the Barbados National Cricket Team in 1976.

Haynes gained the attention of the selectors in no time, and was called to play for the West Indies within two years of his debut for Barbados.

Debut

Haynes made his One Day International Debut on 22 February, 1978 against Australia. He became one of the very few people to score a century in their debut with a massive score of 148.

His test debut came in the following month against the same opposition. He made 61 in the first innings of that match as the West Indies won that test by an innings and 106 runs. Both his debuts were clear indications of his fantastic batting abilities.

Rise To Glory

Haynes formed a formidable partnership with Gordon Greenidge for the West Indies cricket team in Test cricket. They made 16 century stands, 4 of which were double century stands.

They made 6482 runs while batting together in partnerships, the third highest total for a batting partnership in Test cricket history.

He played 4 world cups for the West Indies between 1979 and 1992. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1991.

Low Points

Like many West Indian openers, Hayes has shown a propensity to struggle against spin early in his career. He had a reputation of being a ruthless cricketer. He has had verbal clashes with Australian players in 1990.

He is also noted for using delaying tactics, as captain against England during the 1989–90 Test series.

Club Career

Haynes had a very successful career in English county cricket, playing 95 first class games for Middlesex and scoring 7071 runs at an average of 49.1 with a best of 255 not out, against Sussex.

Back home, he played played first class cricket, first for Barbados and then for Western Province.

His spells were in consistency with those at England and at the International arena, and he has a very high average of 45.9 in all test matches.

Records

Haynes is one of the very few people to have scored a century in both his international debut and his last international game.

His debut century still remains the highest run ever made by a batsman on debut in ODI as well as the fastest century scored by an ODI debutant.

Until recently, he had several other records, like most runs and centuries. He was a part of the squad that won the ICC World Cup 1979.

Retirement

Ever since his retirement from cricket in 1997, he has served as a selector for Barbados Cricket Association. He is currently the director of the West Indies Cricket Board.