BERBICE, Guyana and West Indies batting maestro, Alvin Issac Kallicharran, who celebrated his 74th birthday yesterday, will be the special guest of honour at a belated birthday function, tomorrow from 18:00hrs at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) pavilion. He is one of 16 players from the GCC to play Test cricket.

The older brother of Derick Kallicharran and uncle of Mahendra and Vishaul Nagamootoo, who all played first-class cricket, with Mahendra playing five Test matches, will autograph his book ‘Alvin Kallicharran, Guyana’s Pocket Dynamo Little Giant’ and take photos with those present.

Persons desirous of meeting the Guyanese cricketing legend or wishing to purchase a copy of his book are invited, with the dress code being elegantly casual.

Kallicharran’s books will be sold for $15(US) with 30 per cent of the proceeds going to the GCC, the oldest cricket club in the West Indies.

The left-handed icon, who is one of 64 Guyanese to play international cricket, registered 12 centuries between1972 and 1981 from 66 Test matches
Kallicharran, one of the best players of spin, made his debut as captain of the Guyana Under-16 team in 1966 before making his first class debut in 1967, batting in a pair of short pants.

Kallicharran, who played in the first two World Cups, which West Indies won in England, played 31 ODIs and scored 87 hundreds and 160 fifties from 505 first-class games.

Kallicharran is one of 18 players from Berbice to play Test cricket and one of seven Guyanese to captain the side following his appointment for the 1978 tour to India when Clive Lloyd took an almost full team to the ‘Packer Series’ in Australia

The “little master” from the village of Port Mourant, Corentyne, is one of four Guyanese players of East Indian descent to captain West Indies at Test level after Rohan Kanhai became the first in the West Indies to do so. (Sean Devers)