Karl Nunes, West Indies' first Test captain, enjoyed a distinguished career in cricket as a batsman and an administrator until his death in London at the age of 64. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1894, Nunes learnt his cricket at Dulwich College in South London, where by a quirk of fate he was a contemporary of two future England captains in Arthur and Harold Gilligan. In the First World War, he served in France as a Captain in the West India Regiment, after which he returned to his native Jamaica and helped ready the region for Test status. In 1923, he was named as vice-captain for the tour to England but led the side for the majority of matches due to the illness of the nominated leader, Harold Austin. Five years later he returned to lead the team in his own right - and keep wicket as well - for their inaugural Test at Lord's. England won by an innings and 58 runs, but Nunes' finest hour came in his fourth and final Test, two years later, in Kingston. Set an unobtainable 836 after Andrew Sandham had made 325 in England's first innings, Nunes and a 20-year-old George Headley batted for five-and-a-half hours to salvage a famous draw. Nunes's share was a Test-best 92 in a record second-wicket stand of 228. In the course of his playing career Nunes became the first West Indian to score a century against an England touring team (140 not out v MCC in 1926) and the first to score a double-century against any overseas team (200 not out v Hon Lionel Tennyson's XI in 1927), but after retirement he remained hugely active as an administrator. He was a member of the Jamaica Cricket Board of Control from its inception in 1926, and from 1945 to 1952 he served as President of the West Indies Board, during which time the team really established itself as an international force with victory on the tour of England in 1950. From 1947-51 he was West Indies' representative to the Imperial Cricket Conference, where he spoke in favour of India and Pakistan's accession to full membership. Nunes was awarded the CBE in 1951, whereupon a contemporary noted: "He is perhaps the greatest name in WI cricket. Constantine, Headley and others have done a tremendous job for us, but Nunes not only did work on the field, but behind the scenes and at conference tables." Andrew Miller

The 1928 West Indian team to England, the first Test tour in their history © Robert Nunes

Karl Nunes, West Indies' first Test captain © Robert Nunes

HDG Leveson-Gower and Karl Nunes, 1928 © Robert Nunes

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