Dear Editor,
I was saddened to learn of the death of Lal Munilall and now Anand Sookram. Earlier, Mr. Chris Persaud paid a tribute to Munilall, as a former member and Captain of Everest Cricket Club. Having seen Munilall playing in the 70’s, I will like to complement Mr. Persaud’s tribute with some additional facts and say something about Anand Sookram.
Lal Munilall was an extremely talented batsman who represented Guyana in the Shell Shield tournament in the early 70’s. He played the youth tournament for Guyana in the same period with Alvin Kallicharran. However, if Alvin had a weakness for getting out in the 80’s and 90’s then Munilall was in the 30’s and 40’s. Munilall fought for a place in the Guyana side under great odds with the formidable middle order presence of Kanhai, Kallicharan Lloyd and Randolph Ramnarace in a spot that was rotated between himself, Rupert Gomes and Leonard McRae. However, Munilall’s scores never did justice to his exceptional talent.
Munilall’s best innings that I saw was in the Jones Cup Match between Berbice and Demerara at Rose Hall, Canje in 1972. On a helpful wicket Lance Gibbs and Rex Collymore troubled all the Berbician batsmen including Fredericks, Kallicharran and Baichan but not Munilall. He took the Demerara attack to task using his feet to the spinners. Munilall’s cavalier innings of 77 came to end via the run out route. Munilall was also an extraordinary fieldsman especially in the slips. I remember in the same match he took a brilliant catch in the slips to dismiss Stephen Bamfield off Berbice speed merchant, Keith Cameron. He was agile and quick in the field and a complete all-rounder.
Like Munilall, Anand Sookram also played for Everest under the leadership of the late David Persaud with Anand being better with the ball, bowling both medium pace and left arm leg spin. I still remembered the Rothman’s Cup final between Port Mourant and Everest at Bourda in the early 70s’. Port Mourant under the captaincy of the veteran, Cecil Jagnandan, popularly known as Tamboo was a strong favourite to win, especially after winning the Bristol Cup earlier in the year. However, both Munilall and Sookram played crucial roles in ensuring an Everest victory. After a good opening start of 76 by Romain and Randolph Etwaroo, a crucial run out with a pinpoint throw by Anand Sookram saw the back of Romain Etwaroo for 46. Sookram bowling a tight line and length checked the flow of runs in the Port Mourant innings. When Everest batted, Munilall scored quickly to allow Everest to win by the scoring rate. This prevented Port Mourant from being the first team to win both trophies in the same year, a feat they achieved in 1987 under the captaincy of Deonarine Persaud.
Anand Sookram returned to play for Port Mourant in 1974. He was a part of the Port Mourant team that twice beat DCC that included Fredericks, Adams, Whyte, Keith Aaron, Blair and Harper in 1974 and in 1975 in the Rothman’s and Bristol Cup finals at Bourda. Anand Sookram was also the first Guyanese to become the Caribbean junior table tennis champion in Trinidad and Tobago. His father, Mr. Sookram Snr was the groundsman for Port Mourant Community Centre for decades. The preparation of the ground was responsible for the rise of cricket especially in the sugar estates in Berbice that began under the late Clyde Walcott as Bookers Welfare Manager in the 50s’. Incidentally, Clyde Walcott led a powerful British Guiana team in the mid 50’s that included six Berbicians from the sugar estates namely Kanhai, Butcher, Solomon, Madray, Bajnauth and Harnanand and which thrashed the powerful Barbados in the Triangular Series at Kensington Oval.
Lal Munilall and Anand Sookram played great roles in the development of cricket in their community which led to the rise of numerous talents. They were responsible in their own way for placing their community on the map of the cricket world. Both Anand Sookram and Munilall were home grown heroes who were very much admired by their communities.
Yours faithfully,
(Name and address supplied)
