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Conrad Hunte

West Indian test cricketer and militant for racial healing

Sir Conrad Hunte (1932 – 1999) was a Barbadian cricketer, who played 44 Test matches as an opening batsman for the West Indies.

Conrad grew up in poverty, the oldest of nine children of a plantation worker, but he found fame and relative fortune as a professional sportsman. He played his first international cricket Test in 1958, at the Kensington Oval in Barbados, when he scored 142 runs - a feat equalled by only a handful of players from any country.

While touring Australia with the West Indies team, Conrad had an experience that changed his life, and he committed himself to obeying God. Initially this led to brighter cricket.

Seven years later, a knee injury forced him to take time out from the game. He led a multiracial team who aimed to improve race relations in Britain at a time when the MP Enoch Powell was predicting ‘rivers of blood’. Conrad’s friendships with Black Power leaders convinced them that violence was not the right road. He decided to retire from cricket and devote himself to working with MRA.

Later he spent time in South Africa during Apartheid; and then moved to the United States where he married a TV news ‘anchor’, Patricia. They had three daughters. Conrad was appointed Barbados' Honorary Consul General in Atlanta.

Birth year
1932
Death year
1999
Profession
Nationality
Barbados
Primary country of residence
United States
Birth year
1932
Death year
1999
Profession
Nationality
Barbados
Primary country of residence
United States