Kingston, Jamaica), Jamaican cricketer who in 2001 became the first bowler to attain more than 500 Test wickets.
Walsh made his first-class debut for Jamaica in 1982. His Test career began in Perth, Australia, in 1984, but it was not until four years later that he became a regular member of the West Indies pace attack, forming, with Curtley Ambrose, a formidable fast-bowling partnership that reaped a total of 752 wickets in 94 Tests. While Ambrose was reliably accurate, Walsh was aggressive and never allowed batsmen to settle into a rhythm. His stock delivery was a wicked leg-cutter, bowled with an awkward flailing action. As he grew older and his ability to consistently bowl fast diminished, he developed a devastating slower ball and a deceptive inswinger. Perhaps Walsh’s most formidable quality was his durability, as he rarely missed a Test match because of injury. By March 1999 he had become the complete fast bowler and the third man to reach 400 Test wickets. He was a particular favourite of English crowds, especially in Gloucestershire, the county for which he played from 1984.
Walsh first captained the West Indies on a tour of India in 1994. As the permanent captain in 1996, he led the team to victories over India and New Zealand, but, after a 3–0 series defeat by Pakistan, he lost the captaincy contentiously to Brian Lara. Walsh took his 435th Test wicket on March 27, 2000, in Kingston, breaking the record set by Kapil Dev of India in 1994. On March 19, 2001, he became the first bowler in history to reach 500 Test wickets, and the next month he retired with a career total of 519 Test wickets (at an average of 24.44). Walsh’s record stood until March 2004, when it was broken by Shane Warne of Australia and, four days later, by Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka. Walsh was inducted into the International Cricket Council’s Hall of Fame in 2010.
skating, sport in which bladelike runners or sets of wheels attached to shoes are used for gliding on ice or other surfaces. See figure skating; ice hockey; roller-skating; speed skating.
curling, a game similar to lawn bowls but played on ice. Two teams of four players (given the titles lead, second, third, and skip) participate in a curling match. Each player slides round stones, concave on the bottom and with a handle on the top, across the ice of a rink or a natural ice field toward the tee, or button, which is a fixed mark in the centre of a circle (called the house) marked with concentric bands. The object of the game is for each side to get its stones closest to the centre.
Each player delivers two stones alternately with the opponent beginning with the lead of each team and ending with the skip, who is also the team captain. One point is awarded for each stone that comes to rest nearer the tee than does any rival stone. A team can score up to eight points with the 16 stones delivered in an end, or inning, unless no stone is in the house or the nearest opposing stones are equidistant, in which case there is no score. Blocking and knocking out an opponent’s stones are important strategies of the sport. The usual number of ends in a match is 8 to 12. In international competition a match always consists of 10 ends; ties are broken by the addition of extra ends until a winner emerges
A distinctive part of the game is the use of a brush, or broom, to sweep the ice in front of the sliding stone. This is a tradition carried over from the days when curling was played outdoors on frozen lakes; it was necessary to clear the snow to provide a path for the oncoming rock. Sweeping is still used today on indoor rinks because it both removes stray ice particles and smoothes the surface of the ice, thus assuring the stone a longer ride.
The broom is also used by the curler for balance during delivery of the stone and by the skip to indicate where the curler should aim. The ice is meticulously groomed to keep it completely level. Prior to competition, a mist of water is applied to the ice to create a pebbled surface that helps guide the stones.
Curling is associated especially with Scotland, where the game dates to the early 16th century. Paintings by Pieter Bruegel the Elder dating from about the same time are evidence that the game was also played in the Low Countries, but it was Scotland that promoted the game worldwide. The Grand Caledonian Curling Club was organized at Edinburgh in 1838 (royal patronage made it the Royal Caledonian Curling Club in 1843) with the announced purpose of becoming an international body. The International Curling Federation was founded there in 1966.
A Canadian branch of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club was founded in 1852, but the Royal Montreal Curling Club had been in existence since 1807. The Canadian championship was inaugurated in 1927 and became the world’s biggest curling event.
In the United States the Grand National Curling Club of America, affiliated with the Royal Caledonian, was formed in 1867. The oldest club in the United States is the Orchard Lake Club near Detroit, Michigan, founded in 1832. The first U.S. championship was held in Chicago in 1957, and in 1958 the United States Curling Association was organized as a federation of 125 clubs. There is also the United States Women’s Curling Association (founded 1947).
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