Joseph ‘Reds’ Perreria and the late Tony Cozier have been the most recognisable voices for nearly five decades of International Cricket Commentary.
The 84-year-old Reds, born in the Pomeroon, Guyana, has commentated on 152 Test matches and was behind the Microphone in five World Cups after making his debut at Bourda in 1971 when West Indies played India.

Despite his age, he is still a walking encyclopaedia.
The affable Reds, who overcame stammering to broadcast cricket in every Test playing Nation except Bangladesh and Afghanistan, has had many memorable moments in his life and ranks a recent trip to Guyana as a special guest of His Excellency Dr Irfaan Ali, the President of Guyana, among his top memorable moments.
The iconic Reds, a former OECS Sports Director who now lives in St Lucia with his Guyanese wife Zandra, was invited by Guyana’s Head-of-State for the recently concluded Caribbean Premier League (CPL) finals.

Reds, who has been involved in several sports apart from Cricket, explained how he got the invitation and spoke about the trip to his homeland.
“My invitation to visit Guyana as a guest of His Excellency President Dr Irfaan Ali was initiated by a telephone call from President Ali about me doing a workshop for Guyanese cricket commentators. I readily agreed.

“President Ali said he was enjoying reading my book ‘Living My Dreams’ and invited my wife Zandra and me as his guests for the CPL Final. We arrived on September 17 and departed on September 27 and were accommodated at the Pegasus Hotel after being afforded VIP Status throughout.
“We were provided with a driver throughout our visit and he took us to all of the matches. My best moment on our trip was the final itself and Guyana winning …the atmosphere was unreal and reminded me of Mexico.”

Reds said the Cricket Carnival, in its second year, is a great idea with Regional Superstars Sean Paul, Machel Montano and Terry Gajraj performing during the Cricket Carnival activities which coincided with the CPL. This Event is a big boost for Sports Tourism in Guyana and received excellent reviews from the regional press.

“Ninety-five percent of my broadcasting life career was describing the red ball game but when watching the shortest format, I focused on the batsmen like Ab DeVillers, Virat Kholi, Joe Root, Kane Williamson, along with West Indians Shai Hope, Brandon King, Kacey Carthy, Alex Athaneze and batters like Haley Matthews and Stefani Taylor, who all play proper cricket shots.
“President Ali told me of the World Cup plans for Guyana and the infrastructure to go with the Event and updated me on the construction of a 10,000-seat multi-purpose Stadium at Palmyra, in East Berbice.

“I provided some ideas for sports in Guyana in writing, focussing on a stronger club structure. I Provided a club constitution as the lifeblood of national sports associations and a stronger N. O.C.

We were delighted to be invited to the brunch at State House organised for the Guyana Amazon Warriors Squad the day before the CPL final.
We met President Ali at his residence before we departed, to thank him for a visit of a lifetime for myself and my wife. We also want to thank Nancy Ferreira, Col Abrams, Dr Rahman and Corporal Leroy Lindore from the Office of the President, for their assistance during our stay.