THE CRICKET fraternity in Barbados was thrown into mourning yesterday at the passing of George Linton, one of the island’s most popular cricketers and coaches.
?Linton had an undying love for cricket at any level but he was extremely passionate when it came to play at the youth level.
This was manifested on Wednesday when he told me that he had walked from his Friendship, Hothersal Turning home to the neighbouring Yorkshire Cricket Club to watch the first day’s play in the LIME Under-15 semi-final between Lodge and Queen’s College.
After the end of the day’s play, “Georgie”, as he was affectionately called, took a leisurely stroll back home to watch the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) first semi-final between Jamaica Tallawahs and Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel in St Kitts on television.
That turned out to be the last two cricket matches that Linton would watch as he died in his sleep the next morning, his brother Louis told WEEKENDSPORT yesterday.
Linton, 57, a long-standing coach at the National Sports Council, played 26 first-class matches as a leg-spinning all-rounder.
He scored 734 runs at an average of 25.31 with a highest score of 83 and captured 78 wickets at 29.75 apiece after making his first-class debut in 1982 against the Windward Islands. He took five wickets in an innings on five occasions, including career-best figures of five for 35 against Guyana at Kensington Oval in 1983.
Linton, who also represented the West Indies Under-19 team in 1976 against Young England, was a stalwart of the Spartan club, playing alongside the likes of Barbados players David Holford, Tony Howard, Nolan Clarke, David Murray, Ezra Moseley, Franklyn Stephenson, Hendy Springer, Philo Wallace and Livingstone Puckerin.
He served as a coach for the Barbados Under-15 team as well as a selector for the Combined Schools and national youth teams after his cricket career.
He also had a stint as chairman of the senior selection panel before resigning from the post a few years ago.
His last first-class match was in 1990 against the Windwards at Windsor Park in Dominica when Barbados won by nine wickets.
In fact, Linton only got his place when the late Malcolm Marshall withdrew with an arm injury but in tandem with his Spartan off-spinning clubmate, Springer, they exposed the Windwards’ weakness against spin.
Both Linton and Springer took four wickets in the first innings and each added two more in the second innings.
Linton also contributed 42 valuable runs with two sixes, batting at No.10 as he shared a ninth-wicket stand of 84 with Gordon Greenidge, who made 118, batting at No.6 because of an upset stomach.
