Celebrating Sir Wesley Winfield Hall: A cricketing legend
11 March 2025
In our recent RTFA discovery, we've discovered a clip featuring former cricketer and politician Sir Wesley Winfield Hall, born in Barbados on September 12, 1937. At 86 Wes Hall is celebrated as a legend in the cricket world for his fierce bowling techniques and tall stature.
Hall was the first west Indian player to claim a test hat trick in Pakistan in 1959. His other accomplishments have left a legacy on the sport in the West indies. His successes are renowned and extend from the Caribbean to Australia and South Asia. Beyond cricket, his position as minister of tourism and sport also earned him admiration in Barbados, making him a remarkable figure both on and off the field.
This clip features him training and playing in Cornwall where he discusses his career, injuries that led him to giving up first-class cricket, and his ambitions to coach in the West Indies to support young people in developing their cricket skills. Known as the West Indies' quickest bowler with a ‘pace like fire,’ Sir Wesley Hall expresses missing his family in the interview with reporter Ian Seymour from Westward News Television.
The Reimagining the Film Archive (RtFA) programme, funded by the British Film Institute (BFI) and National Lottery, has enabled the discovery of hidden stories and figures within the vast film collection, particularly those linked to the south-west and Cornwall. To explore more RtFA activity, visit our Discoveries section.