Frank Worrell's Final Series — West Indies Win 3–1 in England, 1963

West Indies cricket before Worrell had been dominated by white or light-skinned captains; Worrell was the first Black captain to serve a full series, appointed in 1959-60 after sustained pressure from C.L.R. James's campaign. His four-year tenure transformed both the team's culture and West Indian society's relationship with its cricketers.

When Worrell took over the West Indies captaincy in 1959-60 he inherited a talented but internally divided side. By 1963 he had moulded them into the most cohesive and aggressive team in the world. The England tour of 1963 was his final statement: Hall and Griffith bowled at terrifying pace, the batting was deep enough to be interchangeable, and Worrell's field placements and bowling changes were consistently ahead of Ted Dexter's countermoves. West Indies won at Old Trafford (an innings), at Lord's (after the famous last-over drama), at Headingley (by 221 runs) and at The Oval (8 wickets). England's sole victory was at Edgbaston, where Trueman bowled magnificently. The series attendance across England was the highest for a touring side since the Australians in 1953. At the end of the tour Worrell was given a ticker-tape farewell through the streets of Melbourne — unusual for an England-based tour end — and announced his retirement from Test cricket. He was knighted in January 1964.

“Frank Worrell did more for West Indian unity than any politician of his generation.”