The golden great, who was seen interacting with Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and head coach Rahul Dravid in Barbados, appeared lacking in muscle—but his on and off-field deeds are backed by brawn

West Indies pace ace Wes Hall in an indoor net during the 1966 tour of England. Pic/Clayton Murzello; (inset) Hall in Barbados last week

The Wesley Hall we saw the other day on social media, interacting with Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid in Barbados, was a far cry from the strapping fast bowler whom cricket enthusiasts may have seen during his playing days, or his cricket administrative time, or both.

A frail Hall, 86, was seen happily presenting his book Answering The Call to the current stars. It’s no surprise that Hall became a Senator and preacher. For, he always seemed to be game for a chat and was happy to interact with cricket lovers, especially the younger lot.

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In his prime cricketing years, he was as swift as swift can be; his pace and pitching feared by opposition batsmen; his first book fittingly titled Pace Like Fire.

In India, during the 1958-59 series, Hall claimed 30 Test wickets at 17.67. It was his first tour for the West Indies! Among India’s below-100 totals, the 98 all out in the opening Test of the 1961-62 series at Port-of-Spain is the least talked about. Hall started it all with the wickets of skipper Nari Contractor, Vijay Manjrekar and Dilip Sardesai, in four balls for eight runs. In 13 Tests against........

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