It was a very big shock on hearing of the tragic death of former Barbados and West Indies fast bowler Ezra Moseley last Saturday morning.
And the fact that “Moses” died in a vehicular accident while riding his bicycle as part of his fitness routine on the ABC Highway at the junction of Balls Road in the parish of Christ Church where he was born and lived makes it more painful.
Moseley’s passing at the age of 63 is very difficult for me to digest. He was a close friend for roughly 40 years and the godfather of my son, Rene.
Ezra loved cricket immensely, played the game extremely tough and remained humble. He took criticism in stride, especially in the face of playing for the unofficial or so-called “rebel” West Indies team in apartheid South Africa in 1983 and 1984.
It resulted in a life ban but once it was lifted in 1989, he returned to first-class cricket in the Caribbean the following season, grabbing 22 wickets at 24.64 runs each in the Red Stripe Cup, and at the age of 32, became the only player who had visited South Africa to force his way into the West Indies team, albeit it was a short career.
Moseley played two Tests and nine One-Day Internationals between 1990 and 1991. He picked up six Test wickets at an average of 43.50, and seven at 39.71 in ODIs. But those statistics do not underline the impact he made.
Both Tests were against England in 1990 – at Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad and on home turf at Kensington Oval.
With compatriot Desmond Haynes as stand-in captain for Viv Richards, who missed the match in Trinidad because of an injury, Moseley bowled with hostility.
He broke skipper Graham Gooch’s arm with a lifting delivery in the second innings as West Indies defied the odds to earn a draw.
West Indies made 199 and 239, and England 288 and 120 for five after they were set 151 for victory.
Gooch not only retired hurt but was also forced out of the rest of the series, which West Indies came from behind to win 2-1 with victories in Barbados (by 164 runs) and in Antigua (by an innings and 32 runs). They lost the first Test in Jamaica by nine wickets.
In 76 first-class matches after making his debut for Glamorgan in the English County Championship in 1980, Moseley took 279 wickets at an average of 23.31, with a best haul of six for 23. He played 79 List A matches, taking 102 wickets (ave: 23.12; Econ: 3.75). And he was a capable lower order batsman as well.
He also played for Eastern Province and Northern Transvaal in South Africa.
Locally, in major Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) competitions, Moseley represented the Barbados Cricket League (BCL) and Spartan. He also turned out for Dover in the Masters competition.
A cricket coach at The St. Michael School for many years (he played for the school in the BCA Goddard Enterprises division as well) – one of his students was the current Barbados Pride and West Indies Test captain Jason Holder, who has always spoken highly of him – Moseley also coached the champion Barbados Women’s team and was an assistant coach of the West Indies Women’s team.
In addition, he served as a selector for the Barbados senior men’s side. He also had a stint as an analyst on radio cricket commentaries for first-class matches.
Moseley’s career as a cricketer was quite interesting.
Lest we forget, he was sensationally picked for the West Indies Under-25 team to tour Zimbabwe in 1981, without having been even called to Barbados trials.
His selection had been based on outstanding performances for Glamorgan in the English County Championship, but as fate would have it, a stress fracture of the lower back ruled him out of the tour.
Asked then by this reporter how he felt about his selection, Moseley said: “I was happy, a bit surprised but not very moved. After all, I never played for Barbados, not even a single trial. I was not expecting to be selected for a West Indies team so soon, but I knew I was bowling well in England.
“I played against Test batsmen Vivian Richards, Gordon Greenidge and Alvin Kallicharran, and they told me they were very impressed with the way I bowled and the amount of speed I had extracted from the wicket, bowling from such a short run-up.”
Moseley, however, went on to make his debut for Barbados in the 1982 Shell Shield Championship, taking 18 wickets as Barbados, captained by off-spinner Albert Padmore, captured the title.
The Barbados team that season included some outstanding fast bowlers – Joel Garner, Wayne Daniel, the late Sylvester Clarke and Franklyn Stephenson.
The full team (with matches in brackets) – Albert Padmore (captain), Alvin Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Collis King, Ezra Moseley (five), Sylvester Clarke, Joel Garner, Gordon Greenidge, David Murray, Leslie Reifer, Franklyn Stephenson, Emmerson Trotman (three), Carlisle Best, Wayne Daniel, Ricky Skeete (two), George Linton, Thelston Payne, George Reifer (one).
Moseley was also a member of the champion Barbados Red Stripe Cup side in 1991. Team (with matches in brackets) – Desmond Haynes (captain), Carlisle Best, Courtney Browne, Anderson Cummins, Roland Holder, Samuel Skeete (five), Gordon Greenidge, Malcolm Marshall, Ezra Moseley, Philo Wallace (four), Sherwin Campbell, Henderson Springer (three), Ottis Gibson (two), Ahmed Proverbs (one).
Ezra Alphonsa Moseley was born on January 5, 1958 at Walrond Village, a quiet, little district, roughly a mile-and-a-half north east of the Grantley Adams International Airport. At the time of his death, he lived just a couple houses from where he grew up with his grandmother, Clarissa Moseley.
The first and only son of four children of Mrs. Muriel Edwards, Ezra received his primary school education at St. Patrick’s (now Gordon Walters) before entering the now defunct Christ Church High School at the age of 11. His father, George Jarvis, was an officer in the Antigua Police Force and died when he was just eight years old.
As a 17-year-old, Moseley joined the Surrey Club, which played in the Windward division of the BCL.
That year, 1975, he took 66 wickets and scored over 300 runs, helping the team to capture the Cup with an outstanding record of winning nine of 11 matches with one tied and the other drawn.
Moseley turned out for the BCL Intermediate division team in 1977 and made his First (now Elite) division debut two years later. He grabbed five for 40 against Maple and also took part in the annual Fred Rumsey Pro-Am Festival, catching the eyes of former England Test players Reg Simpson and Trevor Bailey.
Bill Edwards, a member of the Glamorgan committee, had correspondence with then BCA president Peter Short and on Short’s recommendation Moseley got his big break to play in England in 1980.
He gained a one-year trial contract as a professional with the Swansea club in the hope that he would play in the Glamorgan Second X1, but he exceeded expectations and played for the First side from the start.
In his first match against Essex at Swansea, he took six for 102 off 32 overs in the first innings. He also grabbed six for 41 against Middlesex at Cardiff, ending the season with 51 wickets in the first-class Championship and 80 across formats.
The following season Moseley took 52 wickets at 18.11 runs apiece in the County Championship, finishing third in the overall bowling averages with only Somerset’s Joel Garner, who placed second, beating him among West Indian bowlers.
His best figures were six for 23 against the Australians at Swansea with all his victims being Test players.
He also took a hat-trick against Kent in a Benson & Hedges match, dismissing Allan Knott, John Shepherd and Graham Dilley.
Later, Moseley also made an impact as a professional in the Lancashire Leagues.
A man of God as they say, he relished keeping fit, whether running, walking, swimming or cycling.
To his grieving family and friends, I extend deepest sympathy. Rest in peace, Ezra!
Kudos to Mayers, Bonner in memorable WI win
On the field, no praise can be too high for the tremendous batting display by debutants Kyle Mayers and Nkrumah Bonner as West Indies defied the odds to beat Bangladesh by three wickets in the first Test in Chattogram.
Set 395 to win and entering Sunday’s fifth and final day on 110 for three, West Indies triumphed with 15 balls to spare.
Left-hander Mayers, a 28-year-old Barbadian, made a glorious 210 not out, while Jamaican Bonner, 32, scored 86. At the start of play on the last day, Mayers was on 37 and Bonner, 15.
The pair added 216 for the fourth wicket.
Mayers struck 20 fours and seven sixes in his 310-ball knock, which stretched for 415 minutes. He became only the sixth batsman to score a double-century on Test debut, and also the sixth overall to hit a double-ton in the fourth innings of a Test. Significantly, he is the only one on both lists.
Bonner batted for 325 minutes, faced 245 balls and hit 10 fours and one six.
It was the fifth-highest successful chase in Test cricket, and the highest in Asia.
There should now be optimism about winning the series, having dominated play after the first two days of the second and final Test in Dhaka. West Indies scored 409 all out in the first innings and Bangladesh were 105 for four.
Keith Holder is a veteran, award-winning freelance sports journalist, who has been covering local, regional and International cricket since 1980 as a writer and commentator. He has compiled statistics on the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) Division 1 (now Elite) Championship for over three-and-a-half decades and is responsible for editing the BCA website (www.bcacricket.org). Email: Keithfholder@gmail.com
