Adapted:
by B. Roach
Reds presents sporting equipment to Minister Colin Riley
Reds Perera at the Jim Allen Lecture
Popular Sports Commentator Joseph “Reds” Perreira says the pride in West Indies cricket is gone and the blame does not solely rest with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).
‘Reds’ as the popular sports commentator is affectionately known, was the guest lecturer for the 10th Annual Jim Allen Lecture Series. He who hails from (inner) Guyana and now resides in St. Lucia, here he says there hangs on his door a picture of Montserrat, that he sees everyday and which was given to him by Chief Minister Reuben Meade, some time ago.
The evening was to celebrate Jim Allen. He lamented the absence of Jim but said he is not the only one who somehow does not show for occasions such as this. Similarly while speaking of Jim and his misfortune for not gaining selection to the West Indies cricket team, he pointed out that Jim joins the list of many other players, some before his time, deserving players in the West Indies who just never got selected.
About Jim: “over 3000 first class runs and some of the 100s were scored against very good oppositions. Only tonight we are talking about the 150 against Guyana. Luckily for me as a commentator I did not only do Guyana matches I traveled if there was an option of seeing another territory play and I had the pleasure of seeing a lot of Jim Allen.”
He continued to recapture much of Jim and how he was able to dig deep. “…dig deep and turn matches around for Montserrat and the Combined Islands; he was I would think when I saw him do it all at that point on par with Vivian Richards, at that point he was on top there… some people might he say came at the wrong time…”
He then addressed the issue of the West Indies team’s poor performances. The WICB has been heavily criticized for their selections which have sometimes been questionable but no one has called the players association to account.
The avid sports lover, who claims Montserrat as an island dear to his heart, said when a union negotiates a new deal for workers, they also encourage the workers to step up their productivity, Perreira charged that the players association has continued to churn the waters and kept contentions for more money high but has never chastised or encouraged the players with their performance.
Perreira also believes the emergence of 20/20 cricket has damaged cricket in the Caribbean more than any other region where the game is played. He stated that many of the newer players in the league can no longer play traditional ball and this will limit their ability to compete and win international matches and also expose them to more injuries.
Gregory Willock, MCA president, gave vote of thanks
“It is not a one year fix to get cricket back to where we were,” Perreira told the audience gathered at the popular Sports Bar, The Lyme. “Family life for the players has virtually disappeared because of the frequency of games now around the world. Many players are burnt out.”
He also noted that for West Indies cricket to improve, all of the clubs in the region must sing from the same hymn sheet. “If you go to Melbourne,
Australia, they are using the same training manual as in the East, as in Sydney. In the Caribbean everyone is doing their own thing.”
The evening was sponsored by the Ministry of Youth Affairs, Community
Eugene Skerritt, MC at the Jim Allen Lecture
Services and Sports (MYACSS), with the Permanent Secretary Eugene Skerritt carrying out the duties of Master of Ceremonies. At the start of the proceedings which were preceded with prayers Minister with responsibilities for the above, Colin Riley received a presentation of sporting equipment from Reds. Among them were pairs of boxing gloves, a sport which the feature speaker said he hoped would find its way back in Montserrat.
The sports commentator also signed copies of his new book “Living My Dream” for audience members. As an appreciation for sports on the island, Perreira presented the Minister of Sports, Colin Riley with equipment for a variety of games including, netball, cricket, and boxing.
Jim Allen was one of Montserrat’s leading batsmen in the game of cricket. To view and listen Reds Perriera’s thoughts on Allen, click on the link below.
