Former West Indies chairman of selectors, Clyde Butts, dies in car accident, aged 66

West Indies is mourning the loss of its former chairman of selectors, Clyde Butts, who has died aged 66. The former Guyana captain and West Indies off-spinner passed away in a car accident on Friday, says. Butts made his Test debut in 1985, going on to take 10 wickets in seven matches until his final game in 1988 against India.

He played 87 first class matches in total. That he was able to break into the dominant West Indies team of the 1980s at all was impressive, given that it normally played with four seamers during its golden era of fast bowling. After a career that spanned 14 seasons, Butts served as the chairman of selectors during the 2000s.

“Sad news out of Guyana. Clyde Butts, the former Guyana captain and West Indies off-spinner, and former West Indies chairman of selectors, passed away this evening,” West Indies cricket wrote on social media on Saturday morning (AEDT) “We offer sincere condolences to his family, friends and loved ones. May he rest in peace.

” Cricket writer Peter Miller said: “Awful news. One of the nicest men I have come across. Sending lots of love to his friends and family.

” Toby Radford added: “Very sad news. As chairman of selectors, Clyde was always great to talk cricket with — he had a calm, sensible, astute approach with players and a deep understanding of the game. “Really enjoyed our conversations.

A wonderful man. A sad day. ” Another fan said: “He was a gentleman and an approachable guy.

I can’t believe this really. RIP Mr Butts. ” It has left West Indies cricket in a state of shock, just weeks before they arrive on Australian shores for a second straight year.

The Windies were smashed by Australia in a two-match series last summer, a substandard effort on which they will be desperate to improve as they gear up for two more in January. It will be largely the same Aussie outfit they will face, with the exception, of course, of David Warner, who plans to retire after the Aussies’ third Test against Pakistan at the SCG, just before the West Indies series kicks off. But the race to replace Warner is heating up after leading contenders Matt Renshaw, Marcus Harris and Cameron Bancroft auditioned in a Prime Minister’s XI tour match against Pakistan this week.

And it was Renshaw who emerged out in front, hitting a classy century to outperform the other contenders in pursuit of the soon-to-be vacant Test opener’s job with an unbeaten 136. Renshaw sealed honours in the so-called ‘bat-off’ in the match, with openers Bancroft (53) and Harris (49) and allrounder Cameron Green (46) not making the most of their starts. He denied there was extra motivation for his classy knock, instead crediting his much-improved mindsight.

“It’s just another game of cricket, all the other stuff takes care of itself,” Renshaw told reporters. “Only a couple of years ago, I took a break from the game because of how much I was taking it seriously, that was a really big learning curve for me just to go ‘why am I playing this game’? “It’s not to play for Australia, obviously I want to and that’s the goal but at the end of the day, I’m going to try and enjoy myself. ” The 14-Test left hander adds Friday’s century to 348 Sheffield Shield runs this season at an average of 32, and Warner has previously endorsed him as the leading contender for his job.

Outside of a 10-minute period where he hoisted Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed for two fours and a huge six, Renshaw played a particularly defensive innings at No. 3 that featured 335 balls. “It was taking a lot out of me to keep grinding down,” he said.

“There were some times where I felt like I couldn’t get the ball off the square. “My game has been transitioning really well this season (from) a couple of little conversations with batting coaches and myself just to work out what I’m trying to do. ” Green played some nice shots early, but reached at a wide Faheem Ashraft delivery and was caught behind just as a big score beckoned.

Bancroft arguably entered the ‘bat-off’ in pole position as the Shield’s top run-scorer this season, while Harris has regularly travelled with the Australian side as the spare batter. Punters at Manuka Oval perhaps were given a preview of a future Australian leader, with 24-year-old Nathan McSweeney playing some exquisite square drives on the way to his 40. A brilliant diving catch from Mir Hamza denied him the chance for a statement score.

McSweeney, who is captaining the PM’s XI, has been earmarked as a future national team leader after skippering Australia A earlier this year. Pakistan had rested first-choice pace bowlers Shaheen Shah Afridi, Hasan Ali and Mohammad Wasim, and spinner Ahmed exited the tour match on Friday nursing what appeared to be an injured calf muscle. If they want a specialist spinner in Perth, they may need to pick 37-year-old Noman Ali who also sat out the tour match.

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