Visiting pace maestro Malcolm Marshall's final resting place

By K.R. Nayar
Barbados

Getting the opportunity to visit my favourite cricketer's final resting place before leaving Barbados was most heartening. Malcolm Marshall, one of West Indies' greatest pacers, who terrorized batsmen with his pace, is buried at St. Bartholomew’s Church. Standing in front of his grave brought back memories of his deadly deliveries that flustered batsmen and got them out. As if by instinct, I looked towards the right of his grave as he always ran in with a diagonal run-up towards the umpire and delivered the ball at an unplayable speed.

Great feeling to stand besides the grave of the legendary Malcolm Marshall 

Whenever he ran through batting line-ups, it used to be described as “Marshall Law declared.” He died young at the age of 41 due to colon cancer. The news of his death on November 4, 1999, sank the cricketing world into sorrow as he had played until 1995, appearing for Scotland after his last international match in 1992. He did unbelievable things with the ball, and maybe that is why a ball is placed on top of his grave. He was unbelievable in all aspects, as he showed the world that one need not be tall to be a fast bowler. He was just 5’11” (180 cm) in height at a time when all pacers were above 6ft (183 cm). His autobiography is rightly named: “Marshall Arts.”

Malcolm Marshall's autobiography 

What surprised me is that the ball on his grave is not fixed there. Despite being an unguarded grave tucked in a quiet side of St. Bartholomew’s Church, no one has walked away with it. It is said that many budding pacers come here to take his blessings before an important match. As soon as I entered the church, before I even asked a person standing there anything, he said, “Maybe you have come to see Marshall’s grave?” He introduced himself as Peter, a historian. “I bring people here every week,” he added.

The cricket ball that is placed on his grave

When asked about his memories of Marshall, he said, “I was a youngster when he played. He was like a king in Barbados because of his attitude towards the game. He wasn’t a tall guy, but the pace he produced was fantastic. His movement of the ball was unbelievable, and he never bowled the same delivery twice in the same over. No one could anticipate him based on his pace and action, whether the ball was going to swing in or out. That ability to fool the batsmen is what gave him his wickets.”

Peter, the historian at the St. Bartholomew’s church 

Marshall was the son of a policeman who died in a traffic accident when he was only one-year-old. It was his grandfather who taught him cricket and brought him up. He worked hard to earn a living, and it is said that he heard of his selection to play for the West Indies, which was to tour India, while working in the storeroom at Banks Brewery. He made his debut in Bangalore in 1978 and once remarked that when he heard of his selection, he did not even know where India was located.

Former West Indies skipper Clive Lloyd reminisces Marshall's heroics 

In a chat with former West Indies skipper Clive Lloyd during the India-England semi-final ICC T20 2024, he talked about Marshall’s fighting cricket qualities and devotion. During the 1984 Headingley Test, Marshall sustained a double fracture to his left thumb but was still ready to play. “Normally, with such an injury, guys would be expected to miss a match. He was there with the bat… he stayed at the crease and helped Larry Gomes to a hundred. He also bagged seven wickets, covering his plastered hand with a cloth,” recalled Lloyd.

Who can forget the second day of the Kanpur Test in 1983 when he removed Sunil Gavaskar (0), Anshuman Gaekwad (4), Mohinder Amarnath (0), and Dilip Vengsarkar (14) to end the day with figures of 8-5-9-4, as India crashed to 34 for 5. He returned with a first innings figures of 15-7-19-4. In the second inning, too, he destroyed India, removing Gavaskar (7), Gaekwad (5), Roger Binny (7), and finally Dilip Vengsarkar, who played a great knock of 65. He then had figures of 17-7-47-4. The West Indies won that match by an innings and 83 runs. Incidentally, one among the many reasons I have the greatest admiration for Gavaskar and Vengsarkar is their ability to have challenged Marshall in the next Test after Kanpur in New Delhi when they scored 121 and 159 runs respectively. In the Kolkata Test that followed, “Marshall Law” was again declared through his spell of 6 for 37.

Maco... we will always remember you 

Before leaving the cemetery, I decided to take a video for Janam TV. As I zoomed in, I saw his nickname ‘Maco’ written below his name on the grave. Also inscribed were the words from his wife and child saying: “Although our hearts are broken, we remember you with a smile.” I walked out telling myself that for others, Marshall will always be remembered for his dedication to the game that gave him the pace to challenge the skills of even the best batsmen in the world.