“You are one of the best I have seen bat.” The Kensington Oval was the place where Wes Hall, the legendary West Indian cricketer and pace bowler had chosen to present his autobiography on that day to Virat Kohli and team coach Rahul Dravid.
When he was a bowler himself from 1958 to 1969, Hall played only 48 Tests in 16 years. ‘The more they play, it amazes me,’ said the person who is now in his eighties as he tries to go back in time. If you could compare your bowling days with what you see here now, would you have enjoyed it?” He thought for a minute before responding. Cricket should not be like that though because when batsmen can score 20 overs why should there be a restriction on bowls?That thing I don’t really like about modern cricket,”said Hall.
Moreover, the fact that bowlers’ careers are being terminated early bothers him slightly.Corrupted by money is an opinion held by Hall who believes “if there is money for the proletariat, there will be a change of mindset… They are earning millions in such a short time, so sometimes they are not playing for too long,” Hall said.
Furthermore, this change within the Indian side has also caught the imagination of an ex-pacer who terrorized batsmen through sheer pace alone. There were hardly any fast bowlers around when he played.
“Over the years, Kapil Dev was perhaps India’s only good seamer…But everything has changed now. Look at today’s Indian bowling attack. Jasprit Bumrah? I absolutely love that guy but we have others too who can be really good…I think Indian cricket has come far.”
As Mr. Hall finished off his talk with Dravid coming in prompting the paceman to exchange some words with him before leaving; it was a fantastic team, you know? We have the best batter in the world and we also have the best bowler. It’s a great team,” was Hall’s remark.
Dravid nodded in agreement before adding: “Don’t tell them yet. The tournament is on, and you know what happens, right?”
The two legends laughed together as we soaked it up under the sun of Barbados.
