On the 20th anniversary of his death, several of his contemporaries remembered Malcolm Marshall as one the finest cricketers of all time. Marshall passed away November 4, 1999 at age 41 after a battle with cancer.

Michael Holding (West Indies fast bowling great; noted cricket analyst)

Apart from Malcolm Marshall being a great fast bowler, I remember when he first joined the West Indies squad, as part of World Series Cricket after he had toured India a few seasons earlier. He was a young, very enthusiastic and very quick bowl, that we knew was going to go a very long way. Eventually we got to know him very well and he was a fella who walked around with smile on his face, worked very hard at his game. One of the things a lot of people did not know about Malcolm was the great amount of work he put in to become a great fast bowler, and contributed a huge amount to West Indies cricket. He’s gone too soon, but there’s nothing we can do about that. We can only rejoice that we had him in our presence and shared some great moment with him.

Richie Richardson (West Indies captain and batting great; ICC Match Referee)

The memories of the great artiste of fast bowling; the great tactician; the great conqueror still linger in my mind. He was my roommate, my friend, a great teacher. He was a strategic planner, a very hard worker and an indomitable fighter. Malcolm Marshall was the best and I thank him for the many great memories on the field when we stood proud and supreme flying the West Indies flag. You will never be forgotten.

Ian Bishop (outstanding West Indies fast bowler; noted cricket analyst)

Malcolm meant everything to me at the start of my international career. I’ve always said once I got into West Indies team in 1988 on that tour of England, Malcolm, for no apparent reason, took me under his wing and encouraged me to go training with himself and schooled me in my early day of playing at the highest level. I remember, when he was bowling in the state games in Australia (on the 1988-89 Sir Frank Worrell Trophy tour) and he would be telling me what he was going to do and why he was doing it. I have always said he the greatest bowlers of the generation I played in, I can’t speak for the generations who went before. I am always very thankful for having such a wonderful cricket brain to lean on in my formative years. He was one of the best… EVER!

Cardigan Connor (Hampshire fast bowler; Minister of Tourism in Anguilla)

I had the distinct privilege of knowing the great Malcolm Marshall as a team-mate, coach, housemate for over 13 years but most importantly as a true friend. Having spent my 15-year career at Hampshire from 1984 to 1999, I was able to witness the allround special qualities of the cricketer on the field, the mentor in the dressing room and as the ambassador for Barbados, his adopted county Hampshire and his adopted home Hampshire, which he proudly represented. Malcolm was and will remain and inspiration to me.

Roland Butcher (Middlesex and England batsman; first Black cricketer to represent England)

As we mark the 20th anniversary of the passing of the great Malcolm, I just want to remember him as one of the greatest fast bowlers the world has ever seen. He was an outstanding athlete with a rhythmic action and could generate tremendous pace from a very short run-up. He was also a truly wonderful person off the field; a very hard but fair opponent; and he always went out of his way to help everyone wherever possible – it was his nature. We are sad that he left us so soon, but we remember the life of an amazing cricketer and fantastic man.

Source: CWI Media

Also see: #MalcolmMarshallDay: The Man Who Bowled & Batted With a Broken Thumb