Runako Morton

A right handed middle order batsman who played for West Indies, Runako Morton died in a car crash on March 4, 2012 at the young age of 33. He made his ODI debut in 2002 and played his last game in a T20 international against Australia in February 2010, but in the span of 8 years, he managed only 15 Tests and 56 ODIs, largely thanks to his inconsistency and disciplinary issues.

His cat and mouse game with the West Indies cricket authorities started as early as 2001, when he was expelled from the West Indian Cricket Academy. But a string of good performances in domestic cricket earned him a spot in the ODI squad as a replacement for Marlon Samuels in the very next year. He ran into trouble soon after his debut, when he pulled out of the Champions Trophy tournament later that year after lying about the death of his grandmother. More trouble followed in 2004, when he was arrested for a stabbing incident.

2005-06 proved to be a better period for Morton. He was picked again in the West Indies squad to face South Africa in May 2005 but didn't play a single game. His chance arrived in the same month when West Indies faced Pakistan, where he managed one half century in 3 games. Another well made 84 against India in Colombo earned him a spot in West Indies' squad to tour New Zealand, where he made his maiden century in a losing cause. His good form continued into a series against Zimbabwe, but was soon into the record books for wrong reasons as he made a 31 ball duck against Australia in Malaysia. He made up for it with a match-winning, unbeaten 90 against the same opponents in a Champions Trophy match in his very next game, but a series of poor shows cost him his place for the World Cup 2007. His career continued to be in and out, and although he performed decently against England and Zimbabwe later that year, he never mastered the art of being consistent.

By Karthik Lakshmanan