– ‘Reds’ Perreira tells national cricketers
By Marlon Munroe
Veteran cricket commentator Joseph ‘Reds’ Perreira has reminded the national cricketers who are bound for South Africa for the Airtel Champions League T20 championships to believe in themselves and their ability.
He made these comments yesterday at the Princess Hotel on the occasion of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) honouring the cricketers for their win in the final of the inaugural Caribbean Cup T2O championships that qualified Guyana to represent the region at the prestigious club championships.
They were also honoured for their performance last weekend in the two practice matches against Trinidad & Tobago when they won the second game in convincing fashion.
Perreira told the cricketers that they earned the right to represent not only the country but the Caribbean region. Further, he told the cricketers that that they are going to a tournament that is of a high standard and therefore should not be intimidated by the “big” name players that they will be playing against.
He urged them to play solid, all-round cricket and set their own high standard in the tournament, especially since last year T&T played unbeaten throughout the tournament except in the final.
He asked the players to dig deep as a team when the odds are against them in the tournament and this will bring about success.
He noted too that the players have one of the best captains in the region and they should also rally around him. He told them that Ramnaresh Sarwan is an experienced international cricketer and he knows the conditions of South Africa and therefore they should learn these conditions also when they get to that country.
Most of South Africa has elevations of over 914m (3,000 ft) and at least 40% of the surface is at an elevation of over 1,220m (4,000 ft). Parts of Johannesburg are 1,829m (6,000 ft) above sea level.
Respect for the management team and its decision is also a necessity, Perreira stressed. He said that while the experience may be new to many, the aim is to complement each other. On the other hand, he congratulated the players on their performance in their warm-up matches against T&T last Saturday and Sunday.
Managing Director of Ansa Mc Al Beverly Harper, who also spoke on the occasion, quoted to the players, “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.” These words were spoken by basketball legend and hall-of-famer Michael Jordan.
She, like Perreira, congratulated the cricketers on their performance in the warm-up matches.
She told them that their display over the weekend was “inspirational” and that they should continue to inspire the country they are representing. She said she felt proud to see the players perform at such a high level and therefore it was easy to recommend to the board officials the need to honour them at that auspicious occasion.
She wished them success in South Africa and urged that they aim at all times for the big prize.
President of the GCB Chetram Singh in his brief comments told the cricketers that the board was proud of the team’s performance and said he hoped that such success will continue in the tournament.
Guyana will play its first game on September 12 against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Director of Sport Neil Kumar also praised the team for their success at the Caribbean Cup and the impending success at the Champions League in South Africa.