Early years

Best first came to attention when he scored more than 800 runs in the Barbados leagues in 1976, while still a schoolboy. This secured selection for the West Indies youth championship, in which he scored a century for Barbados against Guyana. In turn, he was then picked for a West Indies youth team tour of England in 1978.

Test debut

Following strong performances for the full Barbados team, Best was called into the West Indies team and made his Test cricket debut at Kingston, Jamaica, in 1986 against England. After ducking and being hit by the first two balls he received, both bouncers from Ian Botham, Best hooked his third ball for six runs; it was his first scoring shot. It was only the second time in the history of Test cricket that someone's first scoring shot in Test cricket was a six. Best is still the only West Indian to achieve this feat. He went on to score 35.

Following a series of low scores, Best was dropped after just three Tests. He felt aggrieved: "I was the most disappointed and hurt man in the world, he said. We were 3–0 up, no pressure was on us and I was unceremoniously discarded. I never had a chance to develop."

Introduction to ODIs

Best made his One Day International debut, also against England, in the series that followed the Test cricket: he made 10. An opportunity to captain was granted in late 1986, when Best was appointed to lead a West Indies B team tour of Zimbabwe. He was selected for the West Indies squad for the 1987 Cricket World Cup and made the team for two of West Indies' six matches, scoring 23 runs at an average of 11.5, with a high score of 18. He cemented his place in the one-day side in late 1989, playing 15 matches in just over a year, the highlight of which statistically was an innings of exactly 100, made off 119 balls against England.

Recall to the Test team

A recall to the full Test side was not to come until the 1990 home series, which, once again was against England. Best, now aged 30, made a century on his home ground in Barbados. Wisden's match report said that the first day of the Test "was a day belonging to Best, a local hero, delighting in the first century of a hitherto frustrating Test career." However, that score of 164, was, according to ESPNcricinfo, "his zenith".^[11] He also made a century in Guyana in the corresponding one-day international series.