King was destined for Greatness but never got there Despite being Guyana’s 2nd most successful Test pacer

Apr 23, 2020 Sports

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By Sean Devers

Reon Dane King was born on October 6, 1975, in Goed Fortune, West Coast Demerara in Guyana but grew up in the City in DaSilva Street, New Town Kitty.
The former GCC, Guyana and West Indies U-19s, Guyana, West Indies ‘A’ and West Indies cricketer was born in a Country which has produced 52 Test players, but most of them have been World Class batsmen and of course the greatest West Indies off spinner Lance Gibbs.

But King, who also represented Marylebone Cricket Club (1999, England), Northerns (2003-2004, South Africa) and Durham (2004, England), South Northumberland in the North East Premier League, is only among a handful Guyanese pacers to wear the prestigious Maroon Cap.
Despite his relatively short Test career in which he has taken 53 wickets from 19 Tests with a career best of 5-51 and an Average of 32.69, Colin Croft, a part of West Indies fearsome quartet in the 1980s, is the only Guyanese fast bowler with more Test wickets than King with 125 wickets from 27 Tests.
The 44-year-old King has 77 wickets from 50 ODIs, including four ODIs in the 1999 World Cup. His best is 4-27 at an Average of 23.37.
The Guyanese, who has never played a T20 match, captured 293 wickets from 95 First-Class games with 11 five-wicket hauls and one 10-haul, with best of 7-82 at an Average of 27.48.
In List ‘A’ Cricket he took 170 wickets from 125 matches but King, a genuine tail ender, who once managed 30 for Guyana in a Four-day game, revealed that Test Cricket was easily his favoured format.
King is now the Manager of the Genesis Fitness Gym which is owed by his wife and says spending time with his family is always a luxury and something which he certainly looks forward to.
King, whose gliding run-up which often compared with the great Mickey Holding, explained how he became interested in cricket.
“I played backyard cricket like most young boys did as I was growing up in DaSilva Street, Newtown Kitty. During my high school days at St Joseph’s High School I was encouraged to join the world famous GCC by my classmates, Stan Fraser, Abosie Thomas and Lionel Singh and it was then (in 1989) I can say that I was interested in cricket,” said King, who was a Guyana selector.

King made his Under-19 debut for Guyana in the 1993 Northern Telecom Regional Youth Championship, played in St Kitts.
He was selected to the West Indies Under-19 team and in his third Youth Test, against England Under-19 at Bourda in January 1995 he took 7 for 97 in England’s first innings. He played six Youth Tests and Five Youth ODIs.
“It was certainly the level of cricket that I hadn’t played before, the only cricket that came close to that level was playing against the English U-19’s in the 1994 youth international series,” said King who qualified as a level 3 Coach in 2018.
In October and November 1995 he toured Pakistan with the West Indies Under-19 team and took 5-37 in the first innings of the first youth Test to set West Indies on the road to victory.
He also toured Bangladesh with the West Indies Under-19 team in November 1995. Right after this tour he made his List A debut for Guyana in the 1995 Shell/Sandal regional 50-overs competition.
“My most memorable moment playing for Guyana was in 1997 when Guyana played India at my home club Bourda. I captured 7-82,” remembered King, who had made his First-Class debut the year before.
He followed up the India performance with 4-47 and 5- 56 at Sabina Park in May 1997 as Guyana just failed to defeat Jamaica outright, and then with 5-43 against the Windwards two weeks later.

These good performances caught the eyes of the West Indies selectors and in November and December 1997 he toured South Africa with the West Indies A team.
But when he was selected for his West Indies ODI debut against India at Dhaka on October 31, 1998, he admitted being surprised.
“I knew that if I kept producing the numbers that sometime that opportunity would arrive, when it did yes I was surprised, we (Guyana) were playing in the 50 overs playoffs in Jamaica and one evening as Neil McGarrell and I was returning from dinner, Brian Lara came up to me and said congratulations to me as I was selected to replace Curtly Ambrose for the ICC Mini world cup in 1998,” the Guyanese quickie recounted.
King disclosed his most memorable game in West Indies colours was the 2001 Coca Cola Cup final when West Indies beat India in Harare in Zimbabwe.
“I got one wicket that of Raul Dravid, bowled, in that match that changed the course of that game and also my debut game against India in the 1998 mini world cup. I opened the bowling and delivered the first ball of the game against a line-up that included Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid, Azharuddin and Jadeja.
Two days before that, India obliterated the Aussies. I ended up bowling 10 on the trot for 26 runs,” said King, who reached fourth in the ODI World Rankings in 2000.
He enjoyed a successful home season in 1999–2000, taking his first Test five-for against Zimbabwe in Jamaica.
Two months later, after setting up a tight win over Pakistan, he seemed almost ready to become a permanent fixture in the West Indies team for the 2000 tour of England.
King was now one the quickest bowlers in the Caribbean, and along with Jamaica Franklyn Rose the pair was earmarked to step into big boots of Ambrose and Courtney Walsh but King was troubled by a heel injury.
King was ignored for four years, until he was recalled for the home series against South Africa in 2004–05, when some of leading players were sidelined by a contract dispute.

King played his last Test against Pakistan at Sabina Park from Jun 3-7, 2005 after playing his last ODI against Pakistan at Perth, February 1, 2005, while his First Class career ended January 20, 2007 in Jamaica.
The Providence Stadium was built for the 2007 World Cup and King played two 50-over games at that venue before his Regional 50-over stint ended when Guyana opposed T&T at Providence on October 20, 2007.
After his career in the middle ended, King became a Match Referee.
“I was at the time the CDO of the GCB and WICB, though its Cricket Manager Mr Anthony Howard wanted to overhaul the match officials (match referees) and I was encouraged as a past player to get involved and so I did along with Colin Stuart.”
When asked what he thought was the difference between Club cricket and what happened when he started playing for GCC, King said what transpired back in those days was non-existent now.
“Simply, it pretty much non-existent. From persons becoming less interested, lack of resources, funding, administrative issues and cricket politics. A lot of persons have lost interest in cricket for a number of reasons, WI team not doing well, the administration of the game, lack of support systems, structures and facilities,” King lamented.
King gave his thoughts on what could be done to improve Guyana and West Indies cricket.
“We just need to get the various parts…Government, National Board, County Boards, Associations, Clubs, Schools…to sort their differences, get to the drawing board come to an understanding of what is needed to develop Guyana’s cricket over a sustained period of time, yes you may have to tweak here and there.
For West Indies cricket let’s get it right in the territories in terms of our structures and related supported systems, West Indies cricket can be only good as what the territories produce,” King added.
With Guyana now on a 6 to 6 Curfew to help arrest the spreading of the COVID-19, all Sports have been suspended and people told to stay in unless they have something very urgent to do, but King prefers to look at the good in a bad situation.
“Well we can look at the positives we can get from the lockdown, the priceless time of spending time with our family, having to play the role of teachers, cooking and exercising together,” King added.
“Educate yourself on this Pandemic gather the necessary information from the reliable sources and persons. Stay at home, this will pass and let’s get ready to deal with the post pandemic period,” concluded King.

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