Wilf Slack
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 England (Eng) |
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 |
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| Batting style | Left-hand bat | |
|---|---|---|
| Bowling type | Right-arm medium | |
| Tests | ODIs | |
| Matches | 3 | 2 |
| Runs scored | 81 | 43 |
| Batting average | 13.50 | 21.50 |
| 100s/50s | -/1 | -/- |
| Top score | 52 | 34 |
| Balls bowled | - | - |
| Wickets | - | - |
| Bowling average | - | - |
| 5 wickets in innings | - | - |
| 10 wickets in match | - | n/a |
| Best bowling | - | - |
| Catches/stumpings | 3/- | -/- |
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As of 1 January 2006 |
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Wilfred Norris Slack (born December 12, 1954, Troumaca, St Vincent, died January 15, 1989, Banjul, The Gambia) was an English cricketer who played in 3 Tests and 2 ODIs in 1986.
His family migrated from the Windward Islands to High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire when he was only 11 years old.
He was a left-handed opener and played county cricket for Middlesex between 1977 and 1988. He also played for his native Windward Islands in the West Indies domestic competition between 1981-82 and 1982-83.
In 1981 against Kent at Lord's he scored his maiden first class century, 181 not out. The opening stand of 367 by Slack and his partner was a Middlesex record. In the following game he made 248 not out, against Worcestershire. He finished the season with 1,303 Championship runs at 48.25.
In 1985 he bettered his effort 4 years earlier by making 1,900 runs at 54.28 and was rewarded with a tour of Sri Lanka with the England B side. During the tour he was rushed over to the West Indies to replace an injured Mike Gatting in the England side after he had his nose broken. Slack made just 2 and a duck in his Test debut at Port-of Spain. As a result he was dropped from the next two Tests but returned in the 5th to make a tidy 52, partnering Graham Gooch in an opening stand of 127.
His 3rd and final Test came at Headingley against India in 1986. He again failed to impress but had a successful county season by again topping 1,000 runs. This won him a place in the England team for their Ashes tour Australia in 1986-87. He didn't play a Test in the series and would never again be picked for England.
During the 1988 English cricket season, Slack suffered a number of blackouts on the field or in the nets, but exhaustive tests had failed to identify the cause. He died at the age of 34 when he collapsed during a game in The Gambia.
He finished his 237 first-class career with 13,950 runs at 38.96, including 25 centuries.
