The authors behind 'The Glory Days - 25 Great West Indian Cricketers' are both respected in their particular fields Tony King, former player and cricket administrator, and Peter Laurie, writer and former ambassador, look at West Indies cricket from the first Test in 1928 to the current uncertain state of the West Indian game.
'The Glory Days - 25 Great West Indian Cricketers', published in 2003, represents the difficulty one may have in choosing 25 great West Indian cricketers. The West Indies even thought small in population has in the past produce cricket super stars with alarming frequency.
It is quiet easy to select another 25 great West Indian cricketers who could find a place on this list; however the authors have done a commendable job in documenting 75 years of West Indian
cricket brilliance.
This book maybe unfairly
criticised for having a bias since 10 of the 25 great cricketers are Barbadian, but if one has a clear understanding of history of West Indies cricket
cricket one would recognised the outstanding contribution that this small cricket crazy nation has made to the development of West Indies cricket.
In the introduction, of 'The Glory Days - 25 Great West Indian Cricketers', a lively dialogue is form between the authors, and offers both insightful cricket analysis and a socio-cultural perspective of the West Indian game.
As a bonus, this cricket book provides the lyrics of two popular cricket calypsos: Lord Beginner's "Victor Calypso", celebrating West Indies historic victory over England at Lord's in 1950, and David Rudder's "Rally round the West Indies". It also includes the poem "Rites" by Kamau Brathwaite.
'The Glory Days - 25 Great West Indian Cricketers' discusses cricket in different eras: The early years, the Post war years, the Worrell-Sobers Era, World Supremacy with Lloyd-Richards, and
the present day. It states that 1995 to present is the period that has created so much heartache for fans of West Indies Cricket .
After two decades of world supremacy it is hard for fans to
acept that the West Indies are struggling to beat even
relatively weak teams, but stated " that there is one shining star, the only great player chosen from this period", but the authors like so many other West Indians are optimistic when they said there is no much talent around that West Indies it will surely rise again, in the words of David Rudder "like a raging
fire"
Whether you agree with the authors' choice of the 25 Great West Indian Cricketers or not, every cricket lover, autograph collector, and anyone interested in the Caribbean and West Indies Cricket will want to have 'The Glory Days - 25 Great West Indian Cricketers'as an essential reference text and souvenir
edition to mark the 75th anniversary of West Indies Test cricket.
Format:
Hardcover
Size:
136 pages
Costs:
$37.95
Price
is in United
States dollars and
do not include shipping costs.
