“Reds” Perreira returns to Guyana for night of honour at GCC on March 8

Veteran cricket commentator Joseph “Reds” Perreira has returned to Guyana for a night of recognition at the historic Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC), Bourda. This special evening will be hosted on March 8 from 18:00h, and “Reds” will be accompanied by his wife, Zandra.

“I am looking forward to a big turnout at the GCC, and I am scheduled to meet the Minister of Tourism and the Minister of Sport. I am going to Timehri on an organised visit to talk to first offenders as a motivation towards a better life, giving them example of my own self, and telling them not to give up,” the veteran commentator said.
Guyana Captain Leon Johnson, among other cricketers, is expected to be present. Notable Journalists and broadcasters, including Sportsmax’s Lance Whitaker and Alex Jordan, have paid tribute to the legend of broadcasting.
“Reds”, who now hosts a radio show in St Lucia where he now lives, has commentated on 150 Tests and was the voice of cricket in the West Indies.

Tribute from Australian Journalist Ashley Gray
I first met “Reds” in 2018, but really, I had known him many years before. Alongside Tony Cozier, he was the sound of West Indies cricket in Australia throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
On ABC radio, he was the man who articulated the world-beating feats of Lloyd, Richards, Roberts, Garner et al.
But his commentary was always measured and insightful. He didn’t resort to hyperbole or bluster, like a lot of today’s commentators. He brought integrity and restraint to the microphone. And he was never biased.
He didn’t need to be! Even in Australia, we recognised the greatness of those West Indies sides and their clear superiority in all facets of the game.
“Reds”’ love of the game was brought home to me when I was writing “The Unforgiven”, my award-winning book on the West Indies rebel tours of South Africa. I contacted him out of the blue and immediately he set about helping me with phone numbers and contacts, despite not knowing me from a bar of soap.
He could see that there was a gap in the history of West Indies cricket, and that this tragic story had to be told. I could sense he cared deeply about Caribbean cricket.
When I finally met him in Worthing, Barbados, we talked for hours and once again it was his integrity that shone through. I remember asking him about the off-field antics of the great West Indies sides of the 1970s and 1980s he had toured with, expecting to be regaled with stories of wine, women, and song.
But “Reds” was not forthcoming. He explained that he had an unbreakable bond with the guys who played in those fantastic West Indies teams and nothing could persuade him to break it. It’s why he was and still is respected by players and fans alike. Congratulations on a fine career, “Reds”. It’s a pity you won’t be commentating in Australia again, but I look forward to having a drink with you in St Lucia soon.

Sportsmax’s Lance Whitaker’s tribute
I join with the Georgetown Cricket Club, oldest in the West Indies, in honouring Joseph “Reds” Perreira. A genuine icon of sports broadcasting for our region and internationally, Perreira’s success spans over 50 years in the business and is the result of his immense knowledge, passion, skill and desire for what he does.
For me, growing up, you had to love cricket the way it was delivered by world-class “Reds” Pereira and Tony Cozier on radio and the inimitable “Reds” style was really engaging, especially in the way he would intermix updates on other major sporting events. Understand that I am referencing here pre-Internet days when information on current happenings was not at your “finger tips” as it is now.
So it meant the world to me listening when “Reds”, on cricket commentary, would typically say something like “England 60 for three, as Michael Holding from his long run prepares to bowl to Geoff Boycott … the Wimbledon tennis final now locked at one set-all as Bjorn Borg has just beaten Jimmy Connors 6-2 in the second set …. Holding in, Boycott edges, out caught behind by Murray, England in further trouble now at 60 for four !!” My career in broadcasting was unquestionably sparked by my exposure as a teenager to the brilliance of people like “Reds” Perreira on radio. It must be said too that Perreira’s competency in sports broadcasting stretches way beyond just cricket, this giant of a regional broadcaster.