Mervyn Dillon

Last updated

Mervyn Dillon
Personal information
Full name
Mervyn Dillon
Born (1974-06-05) 5 June 1974 (age 51)
Toco, Trinidad and Tobago
Height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm fast-medium
International information
National side
Test debut14 March 1997 v  India
Last Test16 January 2004 v  South Africa
ODI debut3 November 1997 v  South Africa
Last ODI26 January 2005 v  Australia
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
Men's Cricket
Representing WestIndiesCricketFlagPre1999.svg  West Indies
ICC Champions Trophy
Winner 2004 England
Source: CricketArchive, 24 October 2010

Mervyn Dillon (born 5 June 1974), is a former Trinidadian cricketer who featured as a fast bowler for West Indies. He emerged at the twilight of both Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose's careers. Dillon soon became the Windies' new bowling spearhead, picking up a sum of 131 wickets in 38 test matches and 130 wickets from 108 one day internationals. [1] Dillon was a member of the West Indies team that won the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy.

Contents

International career

Dillon was born in Mission Village, Toco, Trinidad and Tobago. At one stage, after Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose retired from international cricket, Dillon was the spearhead of the West Indies bowling attack. Subsequently, Dillon was labelled by Simon Briggs as "the natural successor to Courtney Walsh", noting that " his action has a hint of [Walsh's] well-oiled efficiency". According to Briggs, "he takes a high percentage of wickets with the ball that angles in then just holds its own". [2] Steve Waugh labelled him "the West Indies' most notable underachiever...when he had his act together, [he] didn't lose much in comparison to his legendary predecessors [Ambrose and Walsh]...such days were a rarity." [3]

He was involved in a remarkable incident at Kandy's Asgiriya Stadium on 21 November 2001 in a test against Sri Lanka when he contracted abdominal pains and was replaced by Colin Stuart after two balls of his third over. Stuart was banned from bowling for the remainder of the innings by umpire John Hampshire after delivering two beamers that were called as no-balls in his first three deliveries. Chris Gayle then completed the last three balls of the over with his off-spin. This was the only instance in the history of Test cricket, when three bowlers were used to complete one over. [4]

During the Windies' 2002 five test match series against India, one Dillon's bouncers went on to break the jaw of spinner Anil Kumble. He went on to pick up 23 wickets at an average of 27.21 in that said series. [5]

In October 2007, Dillon signed up as an overseas player for the Indian Cricket League. [6]

Coaching career

In January 2022 Dillon was appointed head coach of BPL outfit Sylhet Strikers. [7]

Political career

Dillon applied to be a People's National Movement candidate in the 2020 Trinidad and Tobago general election. [8] He wanted to stand in the seat of Toco/Sangre Grande but Roger Monroe was chosen instead. [9]

Personal life

In 2021 Dillon's daughter, Merelle, then a trainee pilot, was involved in a plane crash in Piarco. [10]

References

  1. ↑ Shashi. "Exclusive Interview with former West Indian Pacer Mervyn Dillon". sportzwiki.com. Sportzwiki.
  2. ↑ Briggs, Simon (September 2004). "Mervyn Dillon". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 6 January 2007.
  3. ↑ Waugh, Steve (2005). STEVE WAUGH: Out of my comfort zone – the autobiography. Victoria: Penguin Group (Australia). p. 690. ISBN   0-670-04198-X.
  4. ↑ Hughes, Matt (21 November 2001). "Windies lose two bowlers but last the course". The Guardian . London.
  5. ↑ Sharma, Aadya (4 August 2016). "Interview with Mervyn Dillon: "If a fast bowler said he never wanted to hurt the batsman, he would be lying"". sportskeeda.com. Sportskeeda.
  6. ↑ "Dillon signs for Indian Cricket League". The Times of India . 13 October 2007.
  7. ↑ Ramphal, Vidia (18 January 2022). "Mervyn Dillon is Sylhet Sunrisers head coach". tt.loopnews.com. Loop TT.
  8. ↑ "Bitter-sweet response as PNM picks new faces". Trinidad Express Newspapers. 29 May 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
  9. ↑ Tack, Clint Chan (31 May 2020). "Jennings-Smith backs Dillon". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
  10. ↑ https://www.cnc3.co.tt/daughter-of-retired-cricketer-identified-as-trainee-pilot-in-crash/?dicbo=v2-vA1pqu7
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