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(Part 25.) Last of the Mohicans.
Of those familiar voices who related the action of West Indies’ performances at home and abroad via the radio, only Joseph ‘Reds’ Perreira remains to tell the story himself of what it was like to be at the 1975 Cricket World Cup.
So with 26 days to go to the 50th anniversary of that famous triumph at Lord’s in the final against Australia, let’s give the floor to the man from Guyana, who now lives in St Lucia.
He is best known for his ball-by-ball commentaries on West Indies cricket around the world.
We start with his own understanding of the Caribbean vibe leading up to the event, which actually is in stark contrast to much of what was being said internationally regarding general indifference ahead of this step into the unknown.
“There was great interest, a real sense of anticipation of a great world event. This shorter format was of course fairly new to the Caribbean.
“We had a regional competition for one season, plus two very strong teams from Pakistan—Hyderabad Blues and PIA—had toured Guyana playing limited-over matches.”
There was no Test series in the region in 1975 preceding the World Cup, but the West Indies had gone to India at the turn of the year and prevailed with a predominantly young team and a new captain.
Was that seen as a plus ahead of the tournament?
“I think the Caribbean public was fairly energised when Clive Lloyd’s team won 3-2 in India. It wasn’t a one-day series. These were Test matches—but you got the feeling that it was the start of something special with a lot of young, talented players blending with the likes of (Roy) Fredericks, (Lance) Gibbs, (Deryck) Murray and Lloyd.”
Photo: PA Photos.
Who did he think then would be among the favourites?
“There was feeling that this was going to be a competitive World Cup. You couldn’t possibly write off England in England.
“Australia had demonstrated under (Ian) Chappell that they were a very good all-round side. You couldn’t underrate New Zealand. Pakistan was always a dark horse.
“No one was putting their head on a block saying that the West Indies will win.”
(via Sportskeeda.)
Did the World Cup make a difference to the international game?
“It was really a shot in the arm for world cricket when the idea of a World Cup came about.
“There was excitement about teams being named, venues being named and when the Caribbean Broadcasting Union appointed Tony Cozier and myself, together with a young man from Dominica by the name of Jeff Charles, who was based at the BBC in London, to broadcast the matches, that made the whole event something to really look forward to.”
Of course, there had to be some bacchanal when the squad was named?
“I can’t recall that there was any major discussion about the West Indies squad selected, surprisingly. Almost all the players picked themselves and I think the feeling was that the side would be competitive. But I can’t recall any major controversy over why so-and-so wasn’t selected or why this or that player was left out.
“It was essentially a Test team, as all teams were at the time, getting ready for the limited-over World Cup playing what we would call ‘normal’ cricket.”
(via Wisden.)
Were you in agreement with Lloyd replacing Rohan Kanhai as West Indies captain the year before?
“They (the selectors and the West Indies Cricket Board of Control as it was known then) called it right when they decided it was time to move on from Rohan Kanhai to a young captain (30 years old) who had a fair amount of Test cricket (43 matches) already under his belt.”
What was it like to be a member of the radio commentary team for this first World Cup?
(via Sportskeeda.)
“It was quite an honour to be chosen as part of the Caribbean broadcast team. I had only done my first Test match in 1971 at Bourda when India were here in the series of course dominated by Sunil Gavaskar’s batting.
“I did one Test match against New Zealand in 1972, then in 1973 I commentated on three Tests—Jamaica, Barbados and Guyana—when Chappell brought the Australians to the Caribbean.
“So I really didn’t have a whole lot of exposure at that time, but what I did do was work really hard aiming for a higher level. I learnt a lot from (Australian commentator) Alan McGilvray.
(Photo by ABC.)
“Myself and Tony Cozier never really talked a lot about commentary and style—but one thing I do remember him saying is to be able to tell the story, be able to paint the picture, be able to carry the game.”
With that relative lack of experience, could you believe that this was all really happening for you?
“It was very exciting for me: a real country boo-boo from up in the Pomeroon in the interior of Guyana and all of a sudden, I am heading to England!”
West Indies won the match by 17 runs and repeated as champions four years later at the same venue.
A strong, boisterous West Indian fan presence was a feature of England tours by the Caribbean squad from the 1960’s to the 1980’s, but has all but disappeared since.
Photo: PA Images/ via ESPNCricinfo.
There will be more of Reds later, God willing, as we get into the actual days of the tournament.
Next: An appreciation of the Garfield Sobers of cricket journalism/ broadcasting: Tony Cozier.
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Fazeer Mohammed is a journalist/broadcaster with almost 40 years’ experience across a range of media.
His interest in cricket, and particularly its history, started at home via his father’s small collection of autobiographies and magazines, offering perspectives and context which have informed his commentary and analysis on contemporary issues in the game.
