PROFESSOR Sir Hilary Beckles’ new book will not only attempt to answer the questions surrounding the collapse of West Indies cricket but also explore the ability of the West Indian people to move forward.
This was revealed during the recent launch of his new book Cricket Without A Cause: Fall And Rise Of The Mighty West Indian Cricketers at the Cricket Legends Of Barbados.
“This is not strictly speaking a book about cricket. It is about cricket in the sense that the narrative and the information in it is about the development of cricket as a culture but this book is really about whether we Caribbean people have the will, whether we have the focus and the commitment to solve our problems,”Sir Hilary said.
Concerned
“This book is really the narrative of an educator who is concerned about the future of the Caribbean.
“I am concerned about Caribbean people.
“I am concerned about our future and I am concerned to whether we have the will and the leadership in the Caribbean to survive through these difficult years ahead,” he said.
Beckles explained that one of the major questions circulating was whether or not West Indian people still had the strength to fight after having to undergo the harsh realities of slavery and further fight to gain human and civil rights, the right to vote and to independence.
He added that with cricket being a major factor in bringing West Indian people together its catastrophic collapse has caused people to wonder what has happened to the West Indian society.
“And to collapse from awesome to awful in such a short period of time. How is it that 100 years of effort has been dashed in just a few years? What has gone wrong in West Indian society?
“This book tries to examine whether we Caribbean people have the fortitude to fight for something beyond our own lives and whether we still have the courage to rebuild this monument that has fallen,” he explained.
Experienced NATION sportswriter Mike King said he found the book to be quite captivating and was a must-read for all cricket enthusiasts.
“He dealt with the individuals, the inflated egos, the over-commercialisation, the effects of the IPL. It transcends cricket literature; it is a historical discourse for all and sundry.”
Pro-vice-chancellor and principal of the UWI Open Campus, Dr Luz Longsworth, said the book spoke of the sudden loss of greatness, and how to the West Indies would return to their former state of prestige. (RG)