Charlie Griffith

Charles Christopher Griffith (born December 14, 1938, Pie Corner, St Lucy, Barbados) is a former West Indian cricketer who played in 28 Tests from 1960 to 1969. He formed a lethal fast bowling partnership with Wes Hall during the 1960s but his career is often remembered for his delivery which cracked Indian batsman Nari Contractor's skull, prematurely ending Contractor's international career.

When Griffith started playing club cricket in Barbados at a young age it was as a right arm spinner. During one game he decided to bowl right arm fast and finished with figures of 7 for 1. He remained a fast bowler and soon after was chosen to represent Barbados. His first class debut was made against the Marylebone Cricket Club who were touring the Caribbean in 1959/60 and in the space of 2 overs he dismissed England internationals Colin Cowdrey, Mike Smith and Peter May.

The most significant match of his career came during a match for Barbados against the touring Indians in 1961/62. Nari Contractor was hit on the back of the head by a Griffith bouncer. After being helped from the field, he started to bleed profusely, having suffered a fractured skull. Two emergency operations were required to removes blood clots on his brain. Although he recovered from his injury, he never played Test cricket again. Later in the match Griffith was no-balled by umpire Cortez Jordan for throwing, the first of two times that he was called during his career. The other occasion was a tour match against...
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