Chadwick Walton

A Jamaican wicket-keeper batsman, Chadwick Walton, played a lot of first class cricket matches for Combined Campuses and Colleges and University of West Indies Vice-Chancellor's XI before being chosen in the West Indies Test squad. He was picked up as a replacement for the series against Bangladesh in 2009 after several senior players went on a strike owing to the differences with the board.

Walton's inclusion in the squad came on the basis of a successful 2008/2009 domestic season in which he amassed a total of 546 runs (including three fifties) and also effected 38 dismissals (the second-highest in the tournament). He impressed in his Test debut too when he equaled Ridley Jacobs's record of five dismissals in an innings against Bangladesh in Grenada.

Sadly, however, his form as a batsman slumped after that impressive debut. While he was sharp behind the stumps, he was out for a duck in both his one day international matches. Even in the 4 innings of the 2 Tests he played, he could manage to make only 10 runs. The return of senior batsmen back into the side, after differences with the board were resolved, have not made it easier for Walton to return to the national side.

Short-handed by the injury to Chris Gayle, the WICB called back Walton into the international fold for West Indies' New Zealand sojourn in 2013/14. He made his debut in the first T20I, scoring a paltry 9 before falling for a blob in his second and hitherto final T20I.

Later on, Walton was overlooked for the T20 Cup in Bangladesh.

Interesting fact: Chadwick attended Munro College - one of the most elite traditional high schools in Jamaica.

by Sonali Dhulap

As of April 2014