We are proud to offer a tribute to the late Malcolm Marshall
who died at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Bridgetown Barbados in November
1999.
Below are the words of Brian Lara.
"I had my first encounter with Malcolm at the beginning of my first-class
career in 1988 when Trinidad and Tobago was playing against Barbados."
"The first delivery I faced in the match was from Malcolm and of course
his reputation with the ball preceded him. I was scared, my heart was
pumping and I was out caught down the leg-side first ball."
"As he went past me with his hands in the air he stopped and touched me
on the shoulder and said 'Tough luck!' That was the first time I had got
close to him."
"Fortunately for me though, two years later on my debut tour with the
West Indies, Malcolm was my roommate. Many a night we sat and talked about
cricket and he never made me feel intimidated. I was inquisitive to find
out more about the game through a champion's eye and he was very accommodating."
"Later on, I embarked on my leadership role in West Indies cricket with
the benefit of Malcolm's full support as coach. He made my role as easy
as possible, by doing his job in a very professional manner. We had immediate
success against England but then we suffered the lowest point in our respective
careers in South Africa."
"You might think that he would have had his lowest point during his playing
career but as a cricketing genius on probably our greatest team in history,
success was the order of the day."
"In fact, I know it hurt him not being able to physically change the course
of events in South Africa. However he was not down-spirited and never
gave up. Immediately after the dust settled he put together a plan to
combat the Australians."
"The turn-around was a surprise to all, except him."
"It was therefore sad that during the World Cup his coaching career came
to a premature end, preventing him from pursuing his dream of West Indies
dominating the world again."
"Malcolm's dream is therefore an inspiration to me as we strive to bring
our cricket back to the top."
"Malcolm Marshall gave his life to cricket in the West Indies as well
as in Hampshire and Natal where he was a player and a coach. This commitment
must have deprived his family of his time."
"Therefore it was a joy to see young Mali running through the dressing
room to be with his dad since we recognized how precious this time must
have been for a child whose dad had devoted his life to cricket."
"On a personal note, outside of cricket Malcolm and I shared a favourite
past-time - that of golf. I am saddened by the fact that we will no longer
be able to enjoy each other's company strolling down fairways around the
world. During this time we were able to build on our already strong friendship
in a very relaxed atmosphere."
We would like to extend sincerest condolences to Malcolm's wife, Connie,
his children Mali and Shelly and the other members of his family."
Marshall was buried in Barbados at the Sir Garfield Sobers gymnasium.
