LEGENDARY cricket commentator, Joseph ‘Reds’ Perreira, has called for his late colleague and friend Tony Cozier to be knighted posthumously.

Perreira spoke during the closing ceremony and presentation for the inaugural Cozier and Perreira T-6 Cup, played over the Easter Weekend at the 3Ws Oval of the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus.

“I am not pointing any fingers at any government, but I felt in my heart that when he passed away, he should have died Sir Tony Cozier. It is not too late for him to receive the highest national award from the country of his birth,” Perreira said.

Meanwhile, on the field of play, St. Phillip-based Eastern Stars produced a brilliant match-winning total of 76 for four off 5.2 overs to win by two wickets after Rising Stars, led by captain Jadan Jones with 47, set a target of 72 for two off their allotted six overs for victory.

Shamario DePezia was named player of the final last night with a well-played 24 runs and a wicket. Teammate Antonio Morris added 22 runs in the chase.

The inaugural tournament, said Perreira as he spoke with the crowd in attendance, has a lot of possibilities. The 82-year-old Perreira, whose voice has resonated with thousands around the Caribbean region for decades, spoke highly of his late friend Cozier and the experiences they both shared as colleagues.

“Cozier, in my opinion, is the most outstanding cricket journalist, as an all-rounder, that the world has ever had. We have produced many a great scholar, we as the Caribbean have produced two Nobel laureates, outstanding statesmen, outstanding athletes, great cricketers, but in Winston Anthony Lloyd Cozier, we have produced a commentator who did television, radio and wrote print for the many newspapers in the world, all in one day. As far as I know, no other journalist has ever done that and we can be extremely proud of Tony Cozier.

“We have produced many great cricketers but we have created a great commentator, respected throughout the world. The only place that I have never gone along with Cozier, thanks to the Caribbean Broadcasting Union, was Bangladesh. I am speaking from first-hand knowledge. You do not travel with a man and do not recognise his talent.

“I was very lucky to work with Tony Cozier for over 40 years and his standard pushed me to work even harder. To maintain the level that he had set. It was not just going along for the ride. It made me a better commentator to work shoulder to shoulder with Tony Cozier,” Perreira shared during his speech. (Extracted from Barbados Today)