West Indies batting legend Brian Lara has paid rich tributes to his former Warwickshire teammate Keith Piper, who has died aged 56 after a battle with cancer. Piper spent 16 years with the Bears and was a key part of the team that won the club’s treble in 1994.
That year, Piper claimed 66 dismissals with the red ball as a wicketkeeper, including a county record seven catches in an innings against Essex, and scored a career-best unbeaten 116 against Durham at Edgbaston, supporting Lara on his world record 501-match haul.
That century was one of two, along with 14 half-centuries, in his 4,618 first-class runs.
Get Updated Faster & FREE: Download the Gulf News app now – just click here.
In total, he claimed 540 first-class dismissals, including more than 500 catches, and added another 308 dismissals in one-day games.
Piper helped Warwickshire win 10 trophies between his debut in 1989 and his final season in 2005.
Although he never played for England, Piper’s form in 1994 earned him a call-up to an A tour to India that winter and another to Pakistan the following year, after the Bears won the county championship and the Natwest Trophy.
Late on Wednesday, Lara wrote a heartfelt tribute on social media hailing Piper not only as a fine cricketer but also as a great human being.
“Heartbroken to hear of Keith’s passing,” Lara wrote on Facebook.
“When I look at this picture (of the two embracing after Lara reached the milestone), I don’t see a cricket match or a score card. I see a great friend, a teammate and a moment of genuine joy shared between two people who loved the game and the camaraderie it brought.”
Lara then wrote about the kind of person Keith was.
“I was exhausted and you kindly insisted on driving me to London that evening. We stopped in Oxford to visit a friend of mine Trini and once we got back on the motorway we laughed and talked until the day finally passed me and I suddenly nodded off,” Lara wrote.
“‘BC (Brian Charles), wake up we’re in London’
“That was the next thing I heard.
“Keith was one of the best, warm-hearted, loyal and someone whose presence made the dressing room a better place. The years may pass but the memories of those moments shared, the laughs and the friendships made through cricket never leave us.
“I feel incredibly fortunate to have known him and been a part of his journey on earth. My thoughts and deepest condolences are with his family, friends and all who knew and loved him.
Calm down, Keith. You will be fondly remembered and missed by many.
