Letter: Reds Perreira delighted by Cricket Facility recently opened at Anna Regina

Jul 19, 2026 Sports

Kaieteur Sports – I was indeed happy when I read a few months ago of plans as announced by the Minister of Sport Honourable Charles Ramson that the Government has plans for an upgraded cricket facility at Anna Regina, and I imagine then that it will be a facility where the Guyana and West Indies Board can use it as a first class ground.

When I saw the pictures and videos of the recent opening, and after listening to an interview done by WI Batting star Shivnarine Chanderpaul, it was clear that Essequibo, the county of my birth now possess an international standard facility with all the facilities for players, officials, spectators and the media. It was not possible for me to be at Anna Regina for the historical opening due to some commitments in the Eastern Caribbean but look forward to being at the venue when matches are played in the 40 Over World Cup that Guyana is hosting in the middle of October. It would be very remiss of me if I did not pay tribute to Benny Sankar and his late father for establishing our first class cricket venue at Hampton Court which played a great role in establishing cricket on the Essequibo Coast and was part of the commentary panel that covered the Guyana vs. Barbados Match at the said venue, and hope that we may see the Hampton Court be able to play cricket matches.

Letter: Reds Perreira delighted by Cricket Facility recently opened at Anna Regina

Dr. Joseph ‘Reds’ Perreira

In attempting to produce this article I had to draw my mind back to a time when I was 12 years of age and my late father, John Perreira, would take the family from our Grant, at Now and Ever, to the nearest ground where cricket was played at Martindale, which was part of the Martindale School built by my grandfather Joseph Martin (father of Dave Martin). This was to ensure an education facility in that area of the River as against having to go all the way to Charity. Cricket was played at that time in many areas along the River starting with Charity itself to include Jacklow, Petersgill, Canegater, Santa Rosa at Moruca and Siriki. Many years later the ground at Hampton Court became in reality to be followed by a ground built by the Alfonso Brothers at Tennis Farm. In the late 1950s there was a visit of the Saint Stanislaus College Cricket Team which was one of the highlights of the cricket in the Pomeroon. The talented and well-coached team who was in-camped at the Martindale School sleeping in hammocks while the residents of the area ensured that they were well fed.

The game at Martindale drew a large group up and down-river which was followed by a dance at the school with the aid of gaslamp with music provided by a group with stringed and percussion instruments and songs of the river. The following April on my late father’s birthday I arranged for my father’s schooner, the Joan Patsy, to bring a cricket group of friends and a match was played and a match was played at Jacklow in front of a large number of spectators from the Charity area and to my father’s delight, my group of friends won by 2 runs. As someone getting involved in the world of cricket, I was able to present the newly built Martindale primary school with a bag of cricket equipment as a ‘give-back’ to that educational institution.

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Anna Regina, Cricket Facility, Dr. Joseph ‘Reds’ Perreira, West Indies

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