Wavell Hinds

Opening the batting for West Indies in the 2000s was rarely a settled job. The team cycled through combination after combination in search of stability. Wavell Hinds, a left-hander from Jamaica known for his hand speed, was one of the more enduring answers to that problem. Cricket entered his life at the age of 7, when his father enrolled him in a community team back in Portsmouth, Portmore. His earliest duties there amounted to little more than hauling the kit bags and keeping the scorebook.

Hinds made his Test debut against Zimbabwe at Queen's Park Oval in March 2000. He wasted little time making his mark, tearing into Pakistan's bowling for 165 and 52 at Bridgetown barely two months later, in just his 4th appearance at that level. A patchy stretch followed, and he was shuffled in and out of the side. Then came an unexpected call to open for the final Test of a punishing tour of Australia in 2000-01, a moment that reshaped his career. He and Sherwin Campbell put together a stand of 147 in that match, and from there he settled into a long standing opening partnership with Chris Gayle.

His ODI cricket peaked in 2003, when a pair of unbeaten hundreds against Australia in Grenada both delivered victories for West Indies. He also featured in the squad that lifted the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy, where his bowling proved valuable in both the semi-final and the final even as his batting form deserted him. A Test career best 213 against South Africa in 2005 arrived near the tail end of his international days, which faded out over the following year amid the frequent selection changes that had shadowed much of his career.

At home, he led club side Kensington to a Super Cup triumph in 2004 and took charge of Jamaica's team the year after. His playing days extended briefly into English county cricket, with two seasons at Derbyshire in 2008 and 2009. He stepped away from the professional game around 2010 and 2011. Life after cricket took Hinds deep into both sport administration and, later, Jamaican politics. He became head of the West Indies Players' Association in 2012 and had a long tenure. He also chaired Jamaica's selection panel and served on the Jamaica Cricket Association's board.

Wavell later entered politics with the People's National Party, and went on to win a seat in Jamaica's parliament, taking up the role of Shadow Minister of Labour and Sport, a notable turn for a man once best known for facing the new ball at the top of the order.