After I had completed writing the biography of Collie Smith, outstanding Boys’ Town, Jamaica and West Indies cricketer half century ago, following his sudden death in England, I could think of no better person to write the foreword to the book The Happy Warrior than Franz “Gerry” Alexander, then captain of the West Indies cricket team. He was a tactically sound captain and a reliable wicketkeeper and batsman. But above all, he was a strict disciplinarian, both on and off the field, and moved players to great heights.

I was then sports editor of the weekly Jamaica Times newspaper. There were others that I could have asked to write the foreword, but I knew Gerry well and was impressed with his fine leadership qualities.

Following is the foreword which is poetry in prose which I consider of some significance because The Happy Warrior was the first book on cricket published in the West Indies:

“Many people have expressed the wish that the memory of Collie Smith should be perpetuated and his example should be made to shine like the flaming torch of the Olympiad. This book shares such wishes.

We will remember that Collie was such a happy person and because of his presence everyone felt much happier too. He provoked humour. There were the antics, the gestures, the mime. He was a ‘Danny Kaye’, but he found in being happy that everyone around him had to be happy too. We will remember the natural ease with which he accepted responsibility and the pride he took in carrying it.

‘I don’t see why I should have to be the one …’ was never Collie, whether it was a task, duty or honour; whether it was pleasing or displeasing. We will remember his cricket. The little man with the big hit. It was very seldom I saw Collie attempt a “six” and it wasn’t over the fence. He had all the strokes as a batsman, but I remember particularly his cover drive and how straight and firm his bat was. He excelled in all departments of the game and he was so very quick in-between the wickets, and often it was a relish to watch his cheeky antics.

‘I’ve got to give the other man a chance,’ was something he always said. This characterised his play, especially when bowling, and his off-spinners were a direct challenge to any batsman. His delight was obvious when his challenge was taken, and though quite serious, Collie behaved in the most impish way. We remember he was a fighter but he fought cleanly and within the rules. He disliked intensely anyone who unfairly robbed him of the chance to fight, but he would never adopt similar methods. Each person who knew him will store many wonderful memories of him. We who knew him cannot forget him. Why? Because he was so many endearing things and a true cricketer all wrapped up into one person, one Collie Smith.”

Gerry never failed to give honour and credit where these are due. He was not a hypocrite and was unafraid to state his objection quietly to a situation of which he was uncomfortable. Educated at Wolmer’s Boys School and Cambridge University in England, Gerry was outstanding both as an all-round sportsman, veterinary surgeon and director of the Government Veterinary Service.

At Wolmer’s he served as head boy and captained the school’s cricket, football, boxing and track teams. He earned the famous Blue at Cambridge, meaning that he represented the university at both cricket and football. While at Cambridge he made the All-England Amateur Football team, a distinction for a non-white in those days.

It was in cricket that his achievements in sports were the greatest. He captained Wolmer’s, Kingston Cricket Club, Jamaica and West Indies teams. On the West Indies tour of India in 1958-59, Alexander did a magnificent job as captain, moulding the young team into a force to reckon with. But there was one player, Jamaican fast bowler Roy Gilchrist, who for some reason took an undisciplined path and had to be sent home. Some people blamed Gerry for sending home his fellow Jamaican. The decision was not Gerry’s alone, but the tour management of which he was a member. In any case other players on the team and an overwhelming number of Jamaicans thought the decision was the correct one. I shared that view.

After a solid run as captain of the West Indies, Alexander should have been an automatic choice as captain for the Australian tour “Down under” in 1960-61, which turned out to be a historic one for him. At the time there was much discussion that a black man should replace the white or brown man as WI captain for the first time. But some people forgot that a black man, George Headley, Jamaica’s greatest batsman of all time and one of Windies’ greatest, captained the West Indies in one Test match a few years before. As a cricket writer, I supported Headley for captain and felt he should have captained the whole series against England, instead of being given only one match.

At the time of the selection of the West Indies team for Australia, Gerry was rated by many Jamaicans as a better captain than Frank Worrell, the Barbadian. There was no doubt that Worrell was the better batsman. He was a polished batsman and had a wider repertoire of strokes than Gerry. Pressure from some of the other islands forced the WI to pick Worrell as captain over Gerry, and one must say he did a good job, with Gerry’s help, of course. However, the colour talk sometimes becomes ridiculous. Worrell was not black as we recognise colour. He was just a shade darker than Gerry.

Lesser mortals would have become frustrated but Gerry, in a demonstration of strong character and a measure of his quality, accepted the appointment as vice-captain and gave full support to Worrell. He topped the Test match batting aggregate with 484 runs, including a century, finishing with an average of 60.50 which showed his reliability as a batsman.

I would say that Gerry’s greatest assets as a leader of class were discipline, humility and honesty of purpose.

The last time we spoke was at the Thanksgiving Service for his adorable wife, Barbara, a former executive of the life insurance industry which took place about a month before Gerry died from a massive heart attack at the age of 82. As his Jamaican teammate in the West Indies team, Jackie Hendricks, paying tribute to him at a service at Saints Peter and Paul Church last Saturday said, “Gerry was a remarkable and multi-faceted person.”