No greater gift than playing for West Indies

Sir Wesley Hall, the former star West Indies fast bowler of the 1960s, was a star again Friday night as he gave a heartfelt recollection of his life, both on and off the field, at the Rotary Club of Georgetown Dinner at the Le Meridien, Pegasus Hotel, Kingston.

Giving the feature address, the now 80-yearold former tear away fast bowler from Barbados took to the podium in front of a packed hall and refused a chair, opting to stand and deliver, which is what he did for most of his a little over a decade-long career.

“There is no greater gift than playing for West Indies,” said Hall, who

Played 48 test matches in a career spanning 19581969.

In his speech that lasted 75 minutes, the iconic cricketer reminisced on his boyhood days. The giant of a man, then a little boy, would run around the community of St Michael telling everyone he would go to Combermere School and play for the West Indies. He recalled that everyone would say this little boy was crazy but by the age of 19, Sir Wes Hall had accomplished two of his life’s goals.

In an emotional speech, Hall spoke of how he became the deadly pacer with the stamina of a beast, and offered advice to the many ears which listened intently.

Born in 1937, Hall recalled growing up knowing about England’s history and not West Indian history and recalled how West Indian cricket had its part to play in the “Independence of our people.

“Cricket had a great influence on Independence. I want to tell you that in 1960, while we were in Australia, CLR James wrote to the captain, Sir Frank Worrell and he said `I want you to know that if your men play well on this tour when you recognize that the federation is on its last legs, and if you fellas play well enough, this will take the impetus to the West Indian people to know that they can always be independent.’

“Ladies and gentlemen, in 1966, Barbados and