Former St. Catherine and YMPC top division batter and wicketkeeper Ian Chadderton has been remembered as a “very gifted cricketer”, who was unfortunate not to play for Barbados.
Affectionately called “Tom” or “Chaddie”, Chadderton died recently at the age of 67 following a lengthy illness.
Both his former successful St. Catherine captain Trevor Clarke and Rollins Howard, an ex-YMPC player and administrator, who also worked in top positions at the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA), were high in praise for the ability of the diminutive Chadderton.
Known for his attacking batting, sound wicketkeeping and sharpness in the field, Chadderton rose to prominence in the late 1970s when he slammed a match-winning First division (rebranded as Elite division from 2012) century “in the dark” for St. Catherine against Banks (now renamed Wildey), whose team included Malcolm Marshall, who later became one of the greatest fast bowlers in the world.
As though he had it in for Banks, Chadderton also made a vital 40 in the 1978 Barbados Fire Cup Knockout Final to help pilot the clannish St. Philip team to the title – by three wickets with seven balls remaining – in their first season at the highest level of local Competition after gaining promotion from the Intermediate division.
“Tom was a very gifted cricketer. He could bat in any position in the order but he preferred opening and he was one of St. Catherine’s best batsmen, if not the best in his time,” Clarke, an astute captain and highly-respected swing bowler, told Barbados TODAY.
“As a fielder he was very competent and actually he could keep wicket very well too, so when (first choice) Thelston Payne was wicketkeeping, he was one of our best out fielders. To me there wasn’t anything in cricket that Tom couldn’t do.
Clarke vividly recalled Chadderton’s century against Banks, which was made on home turf at Bayfield.
“Banks gave us 220-something to win and we started the chase just before tea. The pitch was good and I believed that we could win the game, so I told Tom we are going to win this game and I want you to attack.
“Malcolm Marshall had just come back from a West Indies tour and I told Tom I wanted him to go on the attack from ball One, and if we lose early wickets, we have good enough batsmen to draw the game.
“Marshall was bowling so fast. Almost every ball he bowled was going to the boundary… sixes and fours, and the crowd was going wild, wild. Marshall couldn’t believe that a man could be hitting the ball like that.
“I think Chadderton made 126 and we won the game just before the close. Actually, it was getting dark but Tom was still hitting the ball. It was unbelievable. That was to show you how good a batsman Tom was. I believe it was the fastest I ever saw Malcolm bowl and Tom was just hitting it,” Clarke asserted.
As far as the 1978 Fire Cup (40-over) Final at Kensington Oval was concerned, Clarke recalled a sequence of events leading up to the rain-shortened match, as Chadderton had hardly played during the season due to “financial issues” and he hunted him down to ensure he would in the side.
“Tom wasn’t playing cricket. Actually, I think he played only one or two games and the policy was that you couldn’t play unless you were financial and he wasn’t. He hadn’t played for practically the whole season,” Clarke said.
“After reaching the Final, I told myself that I came so far that I can’t afford to lose, so I have to play my match-winning batsman, who was Tom.
“So I decided to look for him. I spent over a week looking for him and found him just the Friday before the game.
“When I told him I wanted him to play, he told me he wasn’t fit and I told him he was a match-winner and I wanted him to play.
“I paid his subs and put him in the team. When we were about to bat (chasing 120 to win in 24 overs) I told him he was the man to do the job. He came to me as soon as he put the pads on and told me ‘skip I am going to win this game for you’. That was one of the best innings I have ever seen at Kensington for a long time and for a man who wasn’t playing cricket he didn’t make a mistake. He was run out when batting with Payne (who made 45) and the spectators were upset with Payne.
“Chadderton was a very aggressive player, technically good with shots all around the wicket, leg side, off side and when you bounced, home at him. It was a very good knock,” Clarke said.
“I believe Tom was the type of batsman technically, that I feel he should have made the Barbados team but I don’t know the policy of the Barbados selectors. The type of people I see them picking now Tom was way, way ahead of these people but never got the chance.
“Anybody who knows about batting would always say that Tom was one of the best in Barbados,” Clarke said.
Howard recalled Chadderton’s career with YMPC, the Beckles Road Club.
“Ian Chadderton spent about three years at YMPC and during that time he played an active part in Club life and was always willing to do his best for the team,” said Howard, who apart from being a former YMPC cricketer and administrator, also worked as Business Manager, Cricket Operations Manager and CEO at the BCA.
“Chadderton was introduced to YMPC by Arlington Hunte, who was one of the stalwarts of the Club’s Division 1 team. Like him, Ian had also represented St. Catherine with some distinction. He was short and stocky, like a boxer, and had a very attacking style of batting. He used to open the batting and thrived on the faster bowling which would very often anger the fast bowlers.
“He was also a very competent wicketkeeper but did not generally keep wicket for the Club. He came along at a time when most clubs had several outstanding batsmen and it is a testament to his ability that he was able to force his way into the Division One teams of two prominent Clubs.
“In the present state of cricket affairs, a talent like his would be in great demand,” Howard said.
Chadderton was the father of June Beckles (nee Clarke), Sherryann Clarke, Sophia Brathwaite, Richie Rouse and Jabarry Williams. (KH)
Summarised scores of the 1978 (November 12) BCA Fire Cup Final:
Banks 119-5 (24 overs)
(George Brathwaite 38, Clyde Beckles 31, Hubert “Ellis” Brathwaite 27, Garcia Taylor 12; Trevor Clarke 2-19, John Greaves 2-33).
St. Catherine 121-7 (22.5 overs)(Thelston Payne 45, Ian Chadderton 40, Victor Brathwaite 14;
Len Howard 3-34).
Man Of The Match: Thelston Payne. Captains: Trevor Clarke, Colin Burke.
