The Vice Chancellor of the University of the West Indies Sir Hilary Beckles, will be involved in a book signing event of his recently published book “Cricket Without a Cause: Fall and Rise of the Mighty West Indian Cricketers,” at the Sportmen’a Athletic Club on Tuesday, October 31.
Sir Hilary Beckles will sign his book On Oct. 31 at Sportmen’a Athletic Club in Connecticut.
Beckles will be here on the sponsorship of the University of Connecticut, where he is scheduled to give a lecture on Reparations.
The book in which he pens a story of how West Indies cricket “lost its soul,” is the first full-length analysis of West Indies cricket and the factors which have caused the regional team to fall close to the bottom of the International Test rankings. The subject of sir Hilary’s new book, which was published by Ian Richards Publishers, was launched at King’s College, London University, on September 28, on the eve of the trial limited overs match between England and the West Indies.
According to reports Beckles considers the book his most important work to date, as the crisis facing the West Indies cricket was one that was deeper than just cricket but a reflection of the crisis facing Caribbean society. Though the book is about cricket, he has urged readers not to approach it as just a cricket book
At the root of the crisis which has seen the team collapse from awesome to awful, is the fact the West Indies have been unable to field a Test team filled with its best players. The best are lured by the money to be earned from franchise cricket, thus putting cash before country, he said.
Beckles served as a member of the former West Indies Cricket Board during the Julien Hunte administration. It was during this period that the Sagicor high performance centre (HPC) was set up at the UWI Cave Hill campus in Barbados with Beckles as the chairman. The HPC has since been closed down by the administration led by Whycliffe Cameron.
The book said Beckles does not set out to bash the administrators, the players, their representative WIPA, or even the International Cricket Council. All in one way or another, over the past 20 years have contributed to today’s state of affairs.