He has travelled the world covering West Indies cricket on radio, television and print and is a part of West Indies cricket, just like the players.Today he is hurting and Joseph "Reds" Perriera told all to the T&T Guardian.A veteran of 150 Test matches in terms of covering them, Reds, a native of Guyana, now lives in St Lucia, where he has made home for the past 20 years. He started off his career in radio broadcasting with his close friend Tony Cozier and they were the voice of West Indies cricket for over 40 years.
Today, he still does some radio and television work in St Lucia. He has a weekly television sports show and is also on radio most of the times speaking on all sports. He has not been involved in mainstream commentary for a while now on the regional circuit and he's not sure why.
"I am not sure why I am not being used at this present time. I have all my faculties intact and still love and has the desire to be involved in commentary. I am not sure if I have been banned from commentary but I did nothing wrong. In the meantime, I continue to do my work here in St Lucia and is open and available once called to duty."
What has Reds upset, though, is the degree of foreign involvement in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL)."I am disappointed with what has obtained at the CPL. We have so many competent administrators and workers in the sport industry in the Caribbean and I am not seeing good enough representation of this at the CPL. I have nothing against foreigners coming here but when you look around there are so many of them involved in the CPL. Are the owners of the CPL telling us that we are not good enough to stage events in the Caribbean?
"We held a cricket World Cup here in the region some years ago and I know that a number of people were involved in all aspects of it and would have gained tremendous experience from the event. Why not use them for the CPL and let them build on what they already have, so that we improve the skills set of our people in terms of managing sport."
Reds is currently 76 years of age and still loves to assist and develop young sportsmen and women."I have done a lot in my life. I have lived a full life and I must say that I have been able to touch the lives of many people. We must as a people look to invest in others and help in order to be successful."
He is hoping that the West Indies team can bounce back soon and bring glory to the Caribbean people. "I am looking on at what is happening in West Indies and hoping for a change around soon. I see Clive Lloyd and the selectors going for youth and while this is good, they need to implement it on a phased basis. When you look at the young men that played against Australia recently in the Caribbean, you see that some of them are not yet ready. It is a good idea to keep them in the side and let them develop alongside the senior men.
"We have to understand that while change is good we must manage it in a way where we don't have players turning away from the sport."We have the talent here in the Caribbean but we need to work on developing that talent. I like the idea of having the old players involved in the setup because they have served the game well and they have a lot to offer the new crop of players.
"The game has changed tremendously over the years but the players of old still have a major role to play. It is still about using a bat and a ball, so why not use them."Perriera still has faith in the West India society and is hoping for betterment in the years to come."The West Indian youth needs guidance and we as senior people need to be there for them and don't let them down. We need to show them that we believe in them and work together with them in order to ensure their progression.
"This is not only about the West Indian cricketers but all young people in the Caribbean."