Austin (centre) was known as the “right-handed Sobers” before his career fell apart

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Former West Indies all-rounder Richard Austin has passed away at the age of 60 in hospital in his hometown of Jamaica.

Austin, who was known as the “right-handed Sobers” for a short while, represented the West Indies in two Tests and one ODI before his career fell apart after he participated in the 1982-83 rebel tour of South Africa. This led to him becoming homeless and developing a cocaine addiction, which earned him the nickname of ‘Danny Germs’.

Austin also excelled at table tennis and represented Jamaica in football, but he ultimately chose cricket as his main sport. However, his career was short-lived after he decided to play in Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket.

Despite remaining in good form, Austin was never called up to represent the West Indies again. As a result of this, he considered moving to South Africa, even though the country was in the middle of the apartheid regime.