VETERAN cricket statistician and scorer, Ronald Eustace Legall, fondly known as Ron, was yesterday cremated at the Memorial Gardens Crematorium after moving tributes and final messages at Our Lady of Fatima Roman Catholic Church on Shivnarine Chanderpaul Drive and North Road, Georgetown. Legall passed away last week after a period of illness.
Speaking on behalf of the Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA), president Roger Harper stated that the cricketing world has lost an icon.
He added, “He took great pride in his work. That was obvious in his tremendous preparation made to ensure that he was capable of delivering at all times what was asked of him, whether it was part of a broadcasting team for international cricket or he was conducting a scoring workshop for the GCA. He was always very well equipped and well on the ball.”
Former executive member of the Guyana Cricket Board, Ronald Williams, told the gathering of Legall’s commitment to the game of cricket and his obvious need to assist in the sport’s development.
Williams said, “Ron Legall taught, developed and perfected the art of scoring and the compilation of cricket statistics to the extent that Ron Legall was known as the best cricket statistician in Guyana and arguably the best cricket statistician in the Caribbean.”
Legall, who was a veteran in the insurance business by profession, was also hailed as one of the outstanding figures at Demerara Mutual Life where he worked, before he passed on.
Members of staff spoke of his traditional approach to dealing with clients and his often displeasure with those who strayed from the principles of the career which he said shaped the financial lives of individuals.
Courtney Legall, in remembering the man that his brother was, stated that “There was a fellow by the name of Mr Barnwell who scored for Malteenoes and he taught Ron everything about scoring. Then they took him to the Georgetown Cricket Club to show him how to do the scoring.”
Apart from being a statistician, he was also an exceptional billiards player during his time with competitive four-ball games that were, until recent times, the talk of the table. He was one of the youngest members of the Guyana Legion and also the captain of the side.
Legall was born on January 29, 1943 in W Bent Street Wortmanville. (Stephan Sookram)