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(Part 33.) Pride of Dominica.
Tony Cozier and Joseph ‘Reds’ Perreira were the two prominent members of the broadcast team bringing “live” radio ball-by-ball commentaries to the Caribbean audience of the five West Indies matches at the 1975 Cricket World Cup.
(via Caribbean Beat.)
But there was a third member of the team, who was just as important—and, as it turned out in the nail-biter against Pakistan, essential in bringing hope to the listening audience when all seemed lost.
Jeff Charles, a Dominica national based in London at the time as deputy head of the Caribbean Service of the BBC, was the choice of the Caribbean Broadcasting Union to complete the triumvirate of West Indian voices describing the action.
And with 18 days to go to the 50th anniversary of the West Indies triumph in the final, we get his perspective on the experience.
(via CWI Media.)
“It was a singularly honourable occasion. I knew that millions in the Caribbean were listening and I was quite well known in the region because I had done cricket commentaries in all of the territories except Guyana.
“I felt we had to represent the Caribbean extremely well on such a stage. It was not just the significance of the World Cup itself but, and of course we wouldn’t have known it at the time.
“It was the beginning of a series of significant victories in the years to come. So I was happy to be part of it.”
For Jeff, the group match against Pakistan, with the West Indies scrambling a one-wicket victory after slumping to 203 for nine in pursuit of 267, is his fondest memory.
“In the commentary box, Tony was feeling down, Reds was not showing much emotion,” said Charles, “and I kept thinking why don’t I use the opportunity—just perchance, we might win… And I started using all types of phrases to uplift the audience.
“So I said things like ‘Don’t forget that we in the West Indies believe that one plus one will fill the basket. Don’t forget that hope springs eternal in the human breast, so it’s quite possible that the West Indies could pull it off!’
“And I’m so pleased I said those things. I didn’t really believe it (laughs), but I said it!
“As the last pair (Deryck Murray and Andy Roberts) got closer to the target I started to believe that we may quite possibly win but the probability was very low. So anything I saw where I could inject excitement into the broadcast I would do so.
“For something as simple as a single, I would say: ‘It all adds to the score.’ If there was a snick that went through the slips I would say: ‘It doesn’t matter if it was a chance, it went to the boundary and the West Indies are adding to the total.’”
Who was on air to describe the moment of that astonishing victory?
“It was Reds Perreira who was on air at that time. But I will tell you that earlier, when we lost the ninth wicket, the commentator on-air rotation—20 minutes each—went awry because Tony told me ‘You can take my shift.’
Photo: Ken Kelly.
“So, I was on the air for a long while when the other two broadcasters were resting. Closer towards the end, Reds then said to me: ‘I can take it over, you sound tired.’ And so, he’s the one that got us through.”
What was the feeling like to be part of such an historic broadcast team?
“We were elated to be part of history, to be able to bring that drama to those listening. The entire experience would be at the very top of any list of high points of my broadcasting career. And of course, it was a very high point in West Indies cricket history.”
Photo: CWI.
As someone not from the dominant four Caribbean territories, it must have been an especially significant experience.
“It was a moment of pride to be part of that. There was so much dominance and control by the ‘Big Four’ (Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana) as far as administration and selection.
“It wasn’t until Frank Worrell spoke out on behalf of the so-called ‘small islands’ that there started to be a change to that attitude.
Photo: Fox Photos/ Getty Images.
“So, I felt, one, I could represent them because I was on the commentary team and two, it was time for us to be recognised.
“Even after the final, there were many sports programmes on the different services of the BBC World Service and I recall giving interviews to different services—African, Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan—who all wanted me to tell of the experience of being at the World Cup and the final itself.
“I remember thinking at the time, I hope our Caribbean people are proud of us. Not just the players of course, but the broadcasters as well, because the feedback came to us that we were doing an outstanding job.”
Photo: Rexscanpix/ Daily Mail.
Being based in London and interacting with many people in the West Indian diaspora, what did the World Cup triumph mean to them?
“Oh, it was a source of enormous pride. Enormous joy. They were ecstatic about that achievement.
“Many of them would actually tell me later on that people were now looking at them differently. People who wouldn’t previously say ‘Hello’ to them were now saying ‘Hi!’”
(via The Cricket Monthly.)
Finally, with the benefit of hindsight, where does he position that 1975 World Cup in the wider landscape of West Indies cricket?
“I look upon it as the trigger point that told the world that the West Indian cricketers were not a happy-go-lucky group. That they were as outstanding as anybody else.
“I look upon it as a time when youngsters in the Caribbean could be looking forward to playing for the West Indies and making a name for themselves.
Photo: PA Photos.
“So, I saw our contribution—Reds, Tony and myself—as something to be very proud of. That it turned out to be the beginning of 20 years of West Indies domination in Test cricket… I was happy to have been part of that.”
Jeff Charles, now 87, moved to the United States following his BBC assignment. He completed a doctorate at Stanford University in California, where he now lives, and cherishes memories of his World Cup experience as vivid as when they unfolded almost 50 years ago.
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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.
