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Professor Sir Hilary Beckles’ new book examines what went wrong with WI Test Cricket

For Release Upon Receipt - January 23, 2018

UWI


Professor Sir Hilary Beckles’ new book examines what went wrong with WI Test Cricket and how to fix it.

On Friday 26 January, 2018, The Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES) at The University of the West Indies (The UWI), St. Augustine Campus will host a forum and local launch of Cricket Without a Cause: Fall and Rise of the Mighty West Indian Test Cricketers, a new book written by Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles. In this, his most recent publication, Vice-Chancellor Beckles, a cricketer, university academic and former West Indies Cricket Board director examines the international Test Cricket performance of the West Indies. The launch takes place at Theatre D, Teaching & Learning Complex, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus on Friday 26 January, 2018, from 6:30 p.m.

According to the book’s synopsis, Vice-Chancellor Beckles “measures the temperature of inflamed Caribbean emotions and assesses the turbulence caused by new global policy promotions. The passages of pundits are assembled along with the research of experts to produce an interpretation that speaks as much to the mentality of administrators as it does to the economic priorities and politics of players. Outcomes on field of play are interfaced with incomes beyond the boundary.”

In describing his motivation for the publication, Vice-Chancellor Beckles noted, “This is not strictly speaking a book about cricket. It is about Test 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 Caribbean people, whether we have the will, whether we have the focus and the commitment to solve our problems.”

The forum and book launch will be chaired by Dr. Hamid Ghany, Director, Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies and include remarks and readings by Dr. Roy McCree, Fellow, Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies and Mr. Garth Wattley, Sports Editor, Trinidad Express Newspapers as well as remarks from Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, to be followed by a question and answer session. The event is part of a series of launches for the publication which have also been held in the UK, Jamaica, St Kitts and Barbados. It is free and open to members of the public. For more information visit http://sta.uwi.edu/salises/ or contact Ms. Cathy-Ann Modeste at Tel: (868) 662-2002 Ext. 82391 or Email: Cathy-Ann.Modeste@sta.uwi.edu.

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More about Professor Sir Hilary Beckles

Hilary McD. Beckles is Professor of Economic History and Vice-Chancellor of The University of the West Indies (The UWI). He played youth cricket for Warwickshire County in England and while a student at Hull University, played for Hull City and Barnsley Town in the Yorkshire League. He is the founder and Director of the Centre for Cricket Research at The UWI and while serving as a director of the West Indies Cricket Board, designed and chaired its High Performance Cricket Academy. He has written several books on West Indian cricket, including a biography of Sir Everton Weekes and authored a play on the rise of Sir Gary Sobers. In 2017 he was inducted into the USA Cricket Hall of Fame. He lectures extensively on cricket history and culture. For more on Professor Sir Hilary Beckles visit www.uwi.edu/VCBiography.asp

About The UWI

Since its inception in 1948, The University of the West Indies (UWI) has evolved from a fledgling college in Jamaica with 33 students to a full-fledged, regional University with well over 40,000 students. Today, The UWI is the largest, and oldest higher education provider in the Commonwealth Caribbean, with four campuses in Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Open Campus. The UWI has faculty and students from more than 40 countries and collaborative links with 160 universities globally; it offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Food & Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science and Technology and Social Sciences as well as the newly created Faculty of Sports Sciences. The UWI’s priority focal areas are linked closely to the priorities identified by CARICOM and take into account such over-arching areas of concern to the region as environmental issues, health and wellness, gender equity and the critical importance of innovation. For more information, visit www.uwi.edu

(Please note that the proper name of the university is The University of the West Indies, inclusive of the “The”, hence The UWI.)

 

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