BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, JULY 27TH 2017 – The St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) Thursday paid tribute to one of St. Kitts’ sports icons, Edgar James Adolphus Gilbert, who passed away at the age of 84.
“We mourn with the Gilbert family of Molineux, their friends and neighbours on the passing of Edgar James Adolphus Gilbert who celebrated his last 84th birthday on June 14 of this year. Edgar Gilbert was a local sport icon throughout the length and breadth of the Federation as a result of the illustrious career he pursued in the field of Cricket,” a SKNLP statement said.
It added: “Mr. Edgar Gilbert played cricket locally and professionally at the level of the Leeward Islands where he was both a prolific batsman and bowler between the years 1961 and 1983. He had the good fortune of competing against such historically great teams as Australia and England against which he scored 84 runs in 1964 and 67 runs in 1969, respectively.
As a result of his excellent form, Gilbert held the distinction of being the oldest player to represent St. Kitts for the Leeward Islands which he did in 1983 at the age of 50 years.
At a time when cricket was the main sporting activity for young men of Gilbert’s age, he flourished as a cricketer and was a towering figure on the sporting landscape. Gilbert’s exploits and conquests as a cricketer made every Kittitian and Nevisian proud; he was a son of Molineux Village whom so many young men of his era aspired to emulate. Such was his influence that Gilbert served in the positions of Treasurer, Secretary, President and captain of the Molineux Cricket Club over a number of years.
At the national level, he served as a cricket selector for a number of years and remained an honorary member of the St. Kitts Cricket Association for the years after his retirement from active participation as a professional cricketer.
After his retirement from active engagement as a cricketer, Edgar Gilbert was officially engaged by the Ministry of Sport and spent many years coaching and mentoring young men and cricket teams all over the island of St. Kitts. As a tribute to his excellence as a cricketer and his unswerving dedication to the development of young people, the sport of cricket and his country, the Molineux Sporting Complex was officially named the Edgar Gilbert Sporting Complex in his honour and is recognized in the cricket world as a facility for cricket development.
Beyond sport, Mr. Edgar Gilbert has impacted generations of people with his kindness, community-spiritedness, humility and patriotism. He loved and cared for his family, and looked out for all around him. He worked at the St. Kitts Breweries and was also a local entrepreneur. He will be dearly missed by his family, friends, fellow-villagers, former co-workers, those who played with him or enjoyed watching him play, and all persons at home and abroad who had the good fortune to know him professionally and otherwise.
Our sincere prayers and deepest condolences are extended to the family of Mr. Edgar Gilbert and to the entire public of St. Kitts and Nevis. Edgar Gilbert now rests from his earthly travails but his name lives on in the annals of local and West Indian history. He is gone but will never be forgotten!”
Gilbert was described by many as the best all-rounder during his time, only behind the legendary Sir Garfield Sobers, but he only played in 11 first class games during his career.
He was born and lived in Molineux and was regarded as one of several St. Kitts cricketers who came closest to making it in the West Indies team, and in some quarters it was said that he, along with Noel Guishard, Victor Eddy and Luther Kelly were at times unfairly treated. According to ESPN Cricinfo, Gilbert played in 11 first class matches, batted in 18 innings, was not out three times, scored 472 runs and took 84 wickets. Highest score was 84. In the bowling department, Gilbert played in 11 matches, delivered 2,520 balls, 1051 runs were scored off him and took 32 wickets. His best bowling was 5 for 90.
Photo – the late Edgar Gilbert
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