Balls To Fly: Ricky Ellcock launches autobiography

Barbadian Ricky Ellcock has recently launched his autobiography, Balls To Fly — a fascinating story of immense talent, failure, amazing success, near death experiences and inspiring resilience.

The story of a poor Barbadian who gained a cricket scholarship in his mid-teens ending up as the first Black captain with Virgin Airways, was the centrepiece of an event held by Fairfield Books in London that featured a number of cricket books including Song of Grace, a Frank Worrell biography by Trinidadian Vaneisa Baksh, From Lords to the Fjords by Kit Harris and Who Only Cricket Know by David Woodhouse.

A number of his family members, cricket fans and friends, including childhood pals, were on hand at the Hank and Ginger Bar, Kennington Workspace, Brixton Road, to hear Ellcock speak about the book and share some of his journey in an interview session with well-known cricket broadcaster Daniel Norcross.

The Balls To Fly launch was also attended by Barbados’ Deputy High Commissioner Mackie Holder, Betty Lewis, Diaspora Officer and Cedric Lynch, BTMI Business Development Officer, and schoolboy friend.

Much of the session centered around Ellock’s cricket journey, which saw him moving from Combermere School to Malvern College, UK, at 15, to selection for England before the heart-break of a career ending back injury before he even got to bowl a Test delivery.

According to Holder, the book, which he described as fascinating, is at its core a story of immense courage about constantly overcoming the odds, one which is sure to resonate with Barbadians and people generally.

He said he had heard about Ellcock but not the details of how he overcame huge personal setbacks just as he reached the top, including Ellcock undergoing four brain operations in two weeks as he settled into his career as a Virgin Airways captain.

Balls To Fly, Holder said, is motivating on many levels, the kind of book that should be in schools, and he commended Ellcock for not only documenting his life, something many more should do, but for so forthrightly sharing his journey.

The book will be launched in Barbados shortly.

(MH/PR)