The continuity of cricket, in all its myriad forms, is, indeed, clearly identified by its great exponents, and not merely in its anato-physiology, or any other expression. To X-ray the nature of the game as a modicum of a player’s inner vision is futile. One cannot pluck the lotus, from a pond, and discover the deep puzzle of its charm.
Cricketing talent of the genii is a zephyr that soothes; it is also like the gentle breeze in a boulevard. It’s like the eternal beating of the sea, the movement of the turning tide, and the ethereal blossoming of a flower too. Cricket is also an inheritance: one that is passed on from one generation to the other. If one cricketer represented this facet of the game, aside from his identity with prominence, early on in cricket history, it was none other than Sir Learie Constantine (September 21, 1901 – July 1, 1971) — one of cricket’s first great all-rounders.
Learie inherited his deep love for the game from his father, a plantation foreman, who also scored the first hundred for a West Indian touring side, in England, at the beginning of the last century. Learie’s success was based on the strong foundation his dad cultivated in him towards his fielding abilities—an indispensable ingredient, which can make one a complete cricketer, and not just a specialist bowler or batsman.
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