Cricketers from all walks of life showed up yesterday at the Open Bible Church, San Fernando, to say farewell to former West Indies cricketer Runako Morton. Morton, 33, died just over a week ago when his car crashed into a pole near the Chase Village flyover. Leading the cricketers were batting legend Brian Lara, Dinanath Ramnarine, Wavell Hinds, Kirk Edwards, Corey Collymore, Rawle Lewis, Rangy Nanan and Suruj Ragoonath, as well as T&T cricket team's manager Omar Khan and coach Kelvin Williams.
President of the T&T Cricket Board (TTCB), Azim Bassarath, and former president Deryck Murray also were present. However, what caught the eye were the Queen's Park cricketers, led by skipper Justin Guillen, who showed up in the sky-blue colours of their club, with the name "Morton" and his number, 37, emblazoned on the backs of their tops. During the ceremony several cricketers were seen wiping away tears but none was as overcome as Hinds, who wept openly under the embrace of Lara.
Also present were Morton's family members from Nevis, led by his cousin, the former Premier of Nevis Vance Amory. Amory said although Morton had a troubled past, the problem was that people just did not understand him. He said: "Runako had a passion and a number of managers who dealt with him did not know how to channel this energy into something positive. "He was a man you had to understand in order to get the best out of and I must say he was really a wonderful person."
Amory's words brought tears to the eyes of Morton's mother as she focused on his blue casket. His widow, Leiselle, sat in the front row with his three children. In a tribute, Mrs Morton described her late husband as very dedicated. She said: "He was very protective of us and if anyone did us anything you know you had to answer to Runako.
"He was a fighter and spoke his mind but never held on to things. He was a great provider and we will miss him dearly." Morton's final resting place will be in Nevis, where an official function will be held on Saturday.
