George Headley

West Indies batsman nicknamed 'the Black Bradman', the first great black batsman to emerge from the region, who carried a weak West Indies team on his shoulders through the 1930s.

Born on 30 May 1909 in Colón, Panama, and raised in Jamaica, George Headley made his Test debut against England in Barbados in 1930 and was instantly successful. Playing for a West Indies side that was often vulnerable and inconsistent, Headley's scoring feats meant the team's fortunes frequently rose or fell with his individual performance, earning him the nickname 'Atlas' for carrying the side's batting almost single-handedly. Headley's brilliance led fans to dub him 'the Black Bradman', with some of his admirers reversing the comparison and calling Don Bradman 'the White Headley' — an exaggeration, but a testament to his standing. In 1930, against England, he became the first West Indian to score a century in each innings of a Test, with 114 and 112. His highest Test score, an unbeaten 270, came against England in 1935. Headley signed as a professional with Haslingden in the Lancashire League in the mid-1930s, playing there until the outbreak of the Second World War interrupted his career at its peak. In 1948, he was appointed captain for the first and last Tests of a home series against England, becoming the first black man to captain the West Indies, albeit only for those two matches rather than a full series. Headley finished his 22-Test career with 2,190 runs at an average of 60.83, including 10 centuries, eight of them against England. He died in Jamaica on 30 November 1983 at age 74, having become the patriarch of a three-generation Test cricket family through his son Ron and grandson Dean, who both played for England.

Stylish, balanced batsman with a wide array of strokes and immense concentration

A pioneering figure who carried West Indies batting through its formative Test decades and paved the way for future black captains