Ezra Alphonsa Moseley (5 January 1958 – 6 February 2021) was a Barbadian

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 two

Test matches Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

and nine

One Day International A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World C ...

s for the

West Indies cricket team The West Indies cricket team, nicknamed the Windies, is a multi-national men's cricket team representing the mainly Commonwealth Caribbean, English-speaking countries and territories in the Caribbean region and administered by Cricket West I ...

in 1990 and 1991. He was the only member of the 1982 rebel tour to South Africa to subsequently play for the West Indies after their bans were rescinded. He notably broke

Graham Gooch Graham Alan Gooch, (born 23 July 1953) is a former English first-class cricketer who captained Essex and England. He was one of the most successful international batsmen of his generation, and through a career spanning from 1973 until 2000, h ...

's hand during England's 1989–90 tour of the West Indies.

Early life

Moseley was born in Waldrons Village,

Christ Church, Barbados The parishes of Barbados, parish of Christ Church is one of eleven historic political divisions of Barbados. It has a land area of and is found at the southern end of the island. Christ Church has survived by name as one of the original six pari ...

, on 5 January 1958. He played club cricket in his home country until 1980, when

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...

signed him based on his impressive performances.

Career

Moseley was recommended to Welsh county club Glamorgan by

Trevor Bailey Trevor Edward Bailey (3 December 1923 – 10 February 2011) was an England Test cricketer, cricket writer and broadcaster. An all-rounder, Bailey was known for his skilful but unspectacular batting. As the BBC reflected in his obituary: "His ...

and

Reg Simpson Reginald Thomas Simpson (27 February 1920 – 22 November 2013) was an English cricketer, who played in 27 Test matches from 1948 to 1955. Life and career Born in Sherwood, Nottingham, England, Simpson attended Nottingham High School. At the ...

Moore, D. "County Cricket", ''Wisden Cricket Monthly'', September 1980, p. 23. and made his First Class debut in 1980, taking over a hundred wickets for Glamorgan in his first two seasons as well as receiving his county cap, before debuting for

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

in 1981. Although viewed as a hot prospect early in his career, a stress fracture of his back required surgery and a lengthy period of rehabilitation. Moseley signed on for the controversial West Indies "rebel tour" of South Africa in 1982, earning him a life ban from West Indies cricket. Following the tour, Moseley continued playing in South Africa for Eastern Province as well as remaining at Glamorgan until 1986, when he became a professional in the Lancashire Leagues. The life bans on the rebel tourists were lifted in 1989, and Moseley returned to Barbados to become the first and only member of the touring parties to play for the West Indies afterwards. He played two Tests against England during their 1989–90 tour of the West Indies, in which he took six wickets, but his most significant delivery was the one that broke Graham Gooch's hand and put him out of the rest of the tour. England had been chasing a small target in search of a 2–0 series lead, which they then failed to reach before bad light intervened. Playing without Gooch, England lost the remaining two matches to lose the series 2–1. He spent a final season in South Africa playing for

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, before retiring in 1992. He was considered a fast medium bowler, but those who knew him closely disputed this, calling for him to be accepted as a fast bowler.

Later life

After retiring from cricket, Moseley coached at The St. Michael School. There, he was instrumental in the development of

Jason Holder Jason Omar Holder (born 5 November 1991) is a Barbadian cricketer and the former captain of the West Indies cricket team. He is a right arm fast bowling all-rounder. Holder made his One Day International (ODI) debut in January 2013 and Test de ...

, who went on to become captain of the

. He also served as a selector for the men's and women's squad of the

Barbados national cricket team The Barbados national cricket team is the national cricket team of Barbados, organised by the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA). Barbados is a member of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), which is a member of the International Cricket Counci ...

. He was the assistant coach of the women's team when they won the

2016 ICC Women's World Twenty20 The 2016 ICC Women's World Twenty20 was the fifth edition of the ICC Women's World Twenty20, the world championship of women's Twenty20 International cricket. India hosted the event for the first time, with matches played from 15 March to 3 Ap ...

. Moseley died on 6 February 2021 in Christ Church at the age of 63, one month and one day after his birthday. He was hit by a vehicle while cycling for exercise and died at the scene. On Monday, February 8, 2021, a day of remembrance was held at The St. Michael School to celebrate his life.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moseley, Ezra 1958 births 2021 deaths West Indies Test cricketers West Indies One Day International cricketers Barbadian cricketers Barbados cricketers Eastern Province cricketers Glamorgan cricketers Northerns cricketers People from Christ Church, Barbados M Parkinson's World XI cricketers Road incident deaths in Barbados