The following year he made a double century for Barbados against the touring English and quickly found himself called up for Test duties with the West Indies.
[3] His older brother Sinclair showed an early aptitude for cricket as a leg-spin bowler but did not carry on with the game.
"[3] Nurse was good academically,[4] but, keen to start working for a living, he left school aged 16, a decision he would later regret.
[6] Nurse came out to bat in the first innings when Easton McMorris was forced to retire hurt after being hit by repeated bouncers bowled by Fred Trueman and Brian Statham.
Feeling confident after his earlier double century against the tourists Nurse hit Statham for a boundary from the first ball he faced.
[6] In what was described as a "sparkling" innings Nurse made 70 runs before lofting the England off spinner Ray Illingworth to mid on where he was caught by M. J. K. Smith.
[3][6][15] Problems with injuries and a perception that his "temperament [was] not really suitable to the rigours of international cricket" saw Nurse in and out of the West Indies team in the early 1960s.
In addition, more conventional batsmen such as Joe Solomon and Basil Butcher were often preferred by West Indies team selectors.
[17] Nurse's next opportunity was with the West Indies team to England in 1963 but again he was affected by an injury that kept him lame for the greater part of the tour.
[10] He did not play a Test match but there was some qualified praise for his efforts in Wisden Cricketers' Almanack: "Nurse took a long time to justify the nice things claimed for him.
[19][20] Nurse was finally given an extended period in the West Indies team in the home series against Australia in 1964-65. he was asked to open in the first Test at Sabina Park and failed, scoring 15 and 17.
The West Indies needed to respond to a very large first innings total set by Australia, featuring a record first-wicket partnership of 382 between Bob Simpson and Bill Lawry.
His reluctance to curb his aggressive batting saw him again miss out on a century in an innings described by Wisden as "a fine display" on a "fast true pitch which encouraged the pace bowlers".
[26] When Conrad Hunte retired from cricket to pursue his interest in Moral Re-Armament, Nurse was asked to replace him opening the batting for the West Indies—a position for which he was not suited.
Nurse took some time to find his best form in Australia; like many of his teammates he struggled with John Gleeson's unorthodox bowling and Garth McKenzie's ability to move the ball early in the innings.
[32] In the fifth and final Test of the series at Sydney Nurse scored a second innings 137 but was unable to prevent Australia winning the match by 382 runs.
[32] Wisden stated that "although making many magnificent shots" Nurse had some luck as there were "many mis-hits which fell just clear of fieldsmen and three times all but played on".
[36] Nurse went public with his desire to leave international cricket at the end of the tour before the third and final Test at Lancaster Park.
[41] Watching him play in local cricket in Barbados in later years, Gary Sobers described his early retirement as "a waste".
Another commentator claimed Nurse's retirement "on the threshold of a really great career" denied the West Indies of "a run maker who could have taken them unscathed into the 1970s".
[43] Wes Hall described Nurse as a "wonderful singer" and an excellent mimic with his best "performance" a take-off of Freddie and the Dreamers, complete with comic antics.