Calvin Wilkin, a stalwart of Leeward Islands cricket and former West Indies selector and assistant team manager, died in his native St. Kitts last Saturday. He was 84.
An elegant batsman, Wilkin captained St. Kitts in the annual Leeward Islands tournament for the Hesketh Bell Shield and also played for the Leewards before they and the Windwards gained first-class status in West Indies cricket.
His influence was greatest as an administrator. He was president of the Leeward Islands Cricket Association (LICA) and member of the West Indies Cricket Board of Control (WICBC) when the Leewards provided a host of players for the West Indies team.
Elquemedo Willett, the 19-year-old left-arm spinner from Nevis, was the first in 1973 against Australia. He was followed by the great Antiguans, Andy Roberts and Sir Viv Richards, and others over the years from Antigua, Nevis, and, most recently, Anguilla. It is ironic that, while several came close, no Kittian has yet won West Indies selection.
Wilkin became one of the West Indies selectors during the years of domination in the 1980s and was assistant manager of the 1988 team to England that completed the second successive 5-0 sweep of the Test series.
He was later the driving force behind the establishment of the Len Harris Cricket Academy in St. Kitts under the direction of former Leeward Islands and West Indies batsman Keith Arthurton.
Outside of cricket, Wilkin was a director of S. L. Horsford and Company, one of the largest businesses in the Leewards for which he worked for over 40 years.
He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Gloria, and six children, one of whom, Charles, played for St. Kitts and the Leeward Islands and for Cambridge University in England as a left-arm spinner.
