Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

Charles Christopher Griffith, KA, SCM (born 14 December 1938) is a West Indian former

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er who played in 28

Tests Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

from 1960 to 1969. He formed a formidable fast bowling partnership with

Wes Hall Sir Wesley Winfield Hall (born 12 September 1937) is a Barbadian former cricketer and politician. A tall, strong and powerfully built man, Hall was a genuine fast bowler and despite his very long run up, he was renowned for his ability to bow ...

during the 1960s, but experienced a number of controversies during his career, notably being called for throwing twice, and fracturing the skull of Indian cricket captain

Nari Contractor Nariman Jamshedji "Nari" Contractor (born 7 March 1934) is a former Indian cricket player, who was a left-handed opening batsman. His professional career ended after a serious injury. Cricket career Contractor began his first-class career, p ...

with a bouncer. When Griffith started playing club cricket in Barbados at a young age, he 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 Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

who were touring the Caribbean in 1959–60 and in the space of two overs he dismissed England internationals

Colin Cowdrey Michael Colin Cowdrey, Baron Cowdrey of Tonbridge, (24 December 19324 December 2000) was an English first-class cricketer who played for Oxford University (1952–1954), Kent County Cricket Club (1950–1976) and England (1954–1975). Univers ...

, Mike Smith and

Peter May Peter May may refer to: *Peter W. May, American businessman *Peter May (cricketer) (1929–1994), English Test cricketer *Peter May (writer) Peter May (born 20 December 1951) is a Scottish television screenwriter, novelist, and crime writer. H ...

. In the match between Barbados and the touring Indians in 1961–62, captain

was hit on the back of the head by a Griffith

bouncer A bouncer (also known as a doorman or door supervisor) is a type of security guard, employed at venues such as bars, nightclubs, cabaret clubs, stripclubs, casinos, hotels, billiard halls, restaurants, sporting events, schools, concerts, or ...

, fracturing his skull, and leading to the premature end of his career. Later in the match Griffith was no-balled by umpire Cortez Jordan for

throwing Throwing is an action which consists in accelerating a projectile and then releasing it so that it follows a ballistic trajectory, usually with the aim of impacting a remote target. This action is best characterized for animals with prehensile ...

, the first of two times that he was called during his career. The other occasion was a tour match against Lancashire in 1966, when Griffith was called by

Arthur Fagg Arthur Edward Fagg (18 June 1915 – 13 September 1977) was an English cricketer who played for Kent County Cricket Club and the English cricket team. A right-handed opening batsman who first played for Kent at the age of 17, Fagg was a Test ...

. Griffith had a successful tour of England in 1963, finishing the summer with 119 wickets at 12.3, 32 of them coming in the Test series. In the first innings of the Headingley Test he took 6 for 36 and finished the match with 9 wickets. He was a

Wisden Cricketer of the Year The ''Wisden'' Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season". The award began in 1889 with the naming ...

in 1964. Griffith was made a Knight of St Andrew by the Barbadian government in 2017, having previously been given the Silver Crown of Merit in 1992.Stuart E (2017
It's Sir Charles
''National News'', 1 December 2017. Retrieved 26 June 2019.

References

1938 births Living people Barbadian knights West Indies Test cricketers Barbadian cricketers Barbados cricketers Commonwealth XI cricketers Cricket players and officials awarded knighthoods International Cavaliers cricketers Wisden Cricketers of the Year {{Barbados-cricket-bio-stub