Fist-bumping King Charles! - West Indies cricketer reveals why he greeted the UK monarch in a unique manner

2024-08-12
4 min read
(Getty)

West Indies cricketer, Mikyle Louis fist-bumped United Kingdom's monarch, King Charles on their meeting at Buckingham Palace last month. The Windies squad had the opportunity to meet the royalty ahead of their three-match Test series against England.

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England would go on to win the series by a one-sided margin of 3-0, with the hosts stamping complete authority over the visitors. However, the Carribean side had their moment of privilege ahead of the series, when they met King Charles at his iconic residence.

Meeting the hierarchy of any country should be a privilege for any civilian. A certain decorum and decency is maintained, most times. However, that was not the case when Windies' opener, Mikyle Louis met King Charles of the United Kingdom. 

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Why did Mikyle Louis greeted the UK's King Charles with a fist bump?

The West Indies players were contemplating how to greet King Charles upon their meeting. While being at the Buckingham Palace, players took out time to decide on a certain uniform manner of presenting themselves ahead of the UK monarch. 

Opening batter Mikyle Louis, a 23-year-old youngster, greeted the king with an unusual fist bump. He revealed that the Royal staff suggested him on the fist bump being 'funny', leading him to go on with his planned gesture. 

In my head I always was planning to give him a fist bump," Louis told ESPNcricinfo. "But the thing is, I don't know if in the UK that's a common greeting, like in the Caribbean. So I wasn't sure if he would be able to respond.

So I did ask a question [to the royal staff] if this is something that would be possible. They told me it would be funny, so I just went through with it, Louis revealed.

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How did Mikyle Louis perform in the recent Test series against England?

Test 1st Innings 2nd Innings
1st Test 27 (58) 14 (49)
2nd Test 21 (41) 17 (40)
3rd Test 26 (61) 57 (95)

What is Mikyle Louis' international record for West Indies?

Mikyle Louis has only played Test cricket for the Windies. The 2000-born batter is yet to make an appearance in the white-ball cricket. In the four Test matches, Louis has scored over 200 runs, averaging just below 26. 

Matches Innings Runs Average Strike Rate 50s High Score
4 8 206 25.75 44.88 1 57