WIGHT, George Leslie
D.O.B.: May 28, 1929 (Georgetown)
Teams: British Guiana, West Indies
Leslie Wight was principally a stubborn right-handed opening batsman who played 12 first-class matches, including a solitary Test against India, in a three-year career spanning 1950 and 1953. He first represented the Georgetown Cricket Club in 1949 and played alongside stalwarts Bruce Pairaudeau, George Comacho and Peter Bailey among others.
Wight came from a famous cricketing family and three of his brothers (Henry, Norman and Peter) played at the first-class level. In fact Peter had a long and distinguished career in England initially with Somerset (1953-65) and then as an umpire (1966-95).
Two of his uncles (Oscar and Vibart) also graced the first-class stage with the latter going on to contest two Test matches against the English in 1928 and 1930.
Leslie made his debut for British Guiana in the regional goodwill tournament in 1950 where he started in the pivotal number three position but he compiled most of his 1 260 first-class runs as an opener.
In all he struck four centuries and six fifties and averaged an extremely excellent 66.31 runs per innings.
By far his most notable ton was a high-calibre unbeaten 262 against Barbados at Bourda in 1951 when in partnership with Glendon Gibbs (216) they posted a record 390 runs for the first wicket as the hosts won by an innings.
The record was threatened by New Zealanders Glen Turner and Terry Jarvis in the 1972 Georgetown Test when the pair fell three runs short of equalling the record but it finally fell in 2002 – some fifty-one years after – when Jamaicans Chris Gayle (208*) and Leon Garrick (200*) put together a massive 425 at the top of the order against West Indies B at Montego Bay.
His wonderful effort gained him selection to contest the fourth Test of the 1953 Indian tour to the Caribbean in front of his home fans at Bourda.
In a drawn encounter, India batted first and totalled a respectable 262 to which the regional team replied with 364.
Wight was asked by the captain Jeffrey Stollmeyer to bat in the unaccustomed middle-order position (number six) but came to the wicket with his team well-placed at 231-4. However, he got bogged down and spent over two hours eking out his first 12 runs, reaching to a painstaking 21 before he was bowled by the all-rounder Vinoo Mankad.
He did add 71 runs for the fifth wicket with Clyde Walcott but it was not enough to influence the selectors to give him another opportunity and so his career ended before he was 24.
Leslie Wight died in Canada on January 04, 2004.
RECORD:
TEST 1 (1953): RUNS 21: AVG 21:                HS 21 vs India, Bourda, 1953.              
(Digicel: Guyana’s Bigger, Better Network)