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Sir Hilary: CWI owes Jamaican Gilchrist an apology
July 23, 2025
Sir Hilary Beckles, vice-chancellor of the University of West Indies (UWI), believes Cricket West Indies (CWI) owes a posthumous apology to former West Indies cricketer Roy 'Gilly' Gilchrist for the manner in which he was exiled from the team.
Beckles was speaking recently at the press launch of his new book, 'Cricket's First Revolutionary: Frank Worrell's Political War Against Colonialism in the West Indies'.
His book focuses on the impact of Sir Frank Worrell in both West Indies cricket and the political sphere of the Caribbean region.
While speaking on Worrell's life, Beckles explained one of Worrell's deepest regrets was not being able to have Gilchrist reinstated in the West Indies team after his expulsion in 1959.
Gilchrist, who was born in St Thomas, Jamaica, had represented the West Indies from 1957 to 1959, before he was sent home early during the team's tour in India, following disagreements with then-captain Gerry Alexander.
In a match against North Zone, Gilchrist had engaged in a war of words with batsman Swaranjit Singh.
Their altercation would play out on the field, where Gilchrist targeted Singh with dangerous beamers throughout his spell.
"The very first ball, Mr. Singh smacked the ball through the covers for four and told Gilly 'How you like that?'," Beckles said of the encounter.
"The next ball was what we call a high full toss. The captain tells Gilchrist to cut it out. The next ball was of a similar nature."
Alexander would eventually pull Gilchrist from the game, and send him home early for disobeying the captain's orders.
The following year, when Worrell was named West Indies captain, the first black man to do so, he campaigned for the reinstatement of Gilchrist.
His request was refused and Gilchrist would never represent West Indies for the rest of his career.
Gilchrist would pass away in 2001, aged 67.
"He had one fundamental regret and that regret was that he could not rescue the career of Roy Gilchrist," Beckles said of Worrell.
"He felt that Gilchrist was treated unfairly. He felt that Gilchrist was going to be one of the greatest cricketers of all time and he was chopped down because of racism, classism and for committing no illegal offence."
THE RIGHT THING
Beckles believes with 100 years since Worrell's birth, now is the right time to offer an apology to Gilchrist regarding his expulsion from the team.
He said this would honour Worrell's philosophy of selecting the best talents for the West Indies, free from bias and discrimination.
"The West Indies Cricket Board, the CWI as it is known now, I believe the just and right and moral and ethical thing to do at this stage to honour Frank Worrell on his centenary and to honour all the achievements that he has had, is by giving an apology to Roy Gilchrist for the harm and suffering and the end of his career that was unjustly terminated."
