Vibart Wight

Who was Vibart Wight?

Claude Vibart Wight - A senior relative of at least nine other cricket-playing family members, Vibart Wight was born in Georgetown, British Guiana on July 28, 1902 and died in Kingston, Georgetown, Guyana on October 4, 1969, aged 67. He was a useful middle-order batsman and an occasional bowler whose first-class career spanned the years 1925 to 1938. His first match of note was for British Guiana against the visiting M.C.C. led by F.S.G. Calthorpe in February 1926 and a few days later he represented the West Indies, not then a Test playing nation, against the same tourists. In neither game did he disgrace himself, indeed in the second of these two matches he scored 90 and with C.R. Browne, the only player to out-score him with 102 not out, he shared a seventh-wicket partnership of 173. In 1928, despite having no leadership experience, Wight was appointed vice-captain for West Indies’ first Test visit and series against England. It was not a particularly successful tour for him, he scored just 343 runs but he made his Test debut in the third match of the series played at the Oval, scoring 23 and 12 not out. His only other Test was the third match of the return series, played in February 1930 at his hometown of Bourda, British Guiana. Unfortunately, his contribution to a West Indian victory was just 10 and 22. In all first-class matches, Wight scored 1,547 runs at a respectable average of 30.94 and amassed three scores over 100. These came in January 1928 at Bridgetown, Barbados, for Rest of West Indies v. a 'British Born' team when he scored 119 not out, in September 1934 at Bourda for British Guiana v. Barbados when he scored 130 and in October 1937 again at Bourda for British Guiana against Trinidad when he hit his own wicket with his score at 127. His death in 1969 went unrecorded and therefore no obituary appeared within Wisden at the time. His nephew, G.L. Wight, also played Test cricket for the West Indies.