Along with greats Viv Richards and Javed Miandad and possibly current stars Sachin Tendulkar and Mark Waugh, Desmond Haynes must be regarded as one of the greatest ``crossover'' batsmen of all-time.
The Barbadian opener was able to convert from Test cricket to the one-day game without missing a beat - or should that be ball.
In his stellar 116-Test career, which will forever be linked with opening partner Gordon Greenidge, Haynes amassed 7487 runs at an average of 42.29 with 18 centuries.
In his marathon 238 one-dayers he made a still-standing record 8,648 runs, averaged 41.37 and had 17 three-figure scores.
Haynes left the international stage unceremoniously in 1994 and West Indian cricket just hasn't been the same since.
One on One caught up with Haynes at the Sandals Golf and Country Club recently and still found him swinging hard at balls.
Q: First of all, what would you describe as your best innings?
Desmond Haynes: I made a 140 something (143) against Australia in Sydney (in 1989). Allan Border got six wickets on a turning pitch in the second innings. I think the reason I rate it so much was because it was a turning pitch and when I first came into Test cricket I was always seen as an opening batsman and not able to play spin so well.
Q: Which country did you enjoy playing in the most?
DH: I would say Australia. One of the reasons is because of the cricketers that went there and played the tied Test series (Brisbane 1961) and set very high levels and made the people there think very highly of us. That set a standard and when you were there you had to play your best. Also, the Australians were very good competitors. They were a very good bunch of lads.
Q: Do you think there was a similarity between the teams in attitude on and off the field?
DH: Yes, for sure, at first but that changed later on. In the latter stages of my career it got a lot worse - people were thinking of it (cricket) more in a professional way. People like (Dennis) Lillee and 'Thommo' (Jeff Thomson) would try to knock your head off but you could then go and have a drink with them because those were the characters of the game and people like Rodney Marsh and other Aussies used to socialise a lot better. Having that professional set up there with a coach and all now has taken a little away from them.
Q: Who was the best bowler you faced?
DH: Well, I think a lot of the bowlers I faced were very good but looking back I would say I had the greatest respect for Sir Richard Hadlee. He was not extremely quick so you weren't too worried about being hit or put six feet under but he was one of those bowlers that, if you were out of form, was going to keep you out of nick. He used to bowl very straight early on and, as an opener, we like to see the ball outside the off-stump to pick up the pace and bounce of the pitch. I think Dennis Lillee was a gem but the reason I picked Hadlee was because Lillee had quite a bit of support while Hadlee did it on his own in the New Zealand side.
Q: What was/is your relationship like with Gordon Greenidge off the pitch?
DH: At first, we weren't close friends. Gordon was living in England and I was based in Barbados so we didn't spend much time together but I learned a lot from him and we became friends as the years went on. Even though he is in Bangladesh now, we still keep in touch. We are communicating now more than ever.
Q: Do you think the West Indies team you played on in the '80s was the best of all-time?
DH: Yeah. I can only speak about what I have seen and been a part of. I've always felt West Indies cricket has had great individuals, but our team of the '80s was a classic. We used to turn up for the games and begin our warmups and the opposition would look a beaten team and we had a little thing we used to say: 'They expect to lose, let's not disappoint them'. We were just awesome.
Q: What are you doing now?
DH: I am with Hampshire as a batting coach. I love coaching and I love to talk about cricket.
Q: Do you feel there is a place for you to make a contribution to West Indian cricket?
DH: I am optimistic about it as I feel I have a lot to offer West Indian cricket. If the opportunity arose to help West Indian cricket I would take it.
Q: How do you rate the current side?
DH: We are in, I won't say a transitional period, but we have got some players now and Brian Lara as our captain. I believe he will get very, very good because he is still a young man. There's no question about it that we don't have the fast bowlers that we were producing before but we in the Caribbean believe West Indies cricket means a lot to us. It is a way to improve our standard of living and we are always going to produce cricketers.
Note: Haynes is involved in a legal dispute with the West Indies Cricket Board.