The Tragedy of 'Doocha' Persaud

The impressive batting performances of Carl Hooper and Shivnarine Chanderpaul in the recent series against India have compelled cricket lovers to revisit the question of the contribution of Guyanese to West Indian Cricket. This is not surprising; it was expected. And as we go down memory lane, there conjured up the wizardy of Robert Christiani, against spin bowling, the genius of Rohan Kanhai, the dependability of Basil Butcher, the solidity of Joe Solomon, the courage of Roy Fredericks, the brilliance of Alvin Kallicharran and the aggression of Clive Lloyd. All of this reinforces the view that Guyana has produced great batsmen over the years and they have made a signal contribution to West Indian Teams and Regional Cricket. There is no doubt about this.

I am not a contrarian. But whenever I read about the genius or the brilliance of the current batting stars, my mind invariably turns to those who were less fortunate. We will never know what Sonny Moonsammy, universally regarded as one of the finest batsman produced by this country, would have done, if injustice had not stood like a sentinel before the door of opportunity. And I wonder too what could have been the future of Ivor Mendonca, had he been given the opportunity to tour with the West Indies Team in 1963. Frank Worrell was so impressed with Mendonca's wicket keeping and batting ability during the 1962 tour of India to the West Indies, that he personally undertook to give the West Indies Cricket Board whatever assurance they needed to make Mendonca's participation in that touring team possible. Even though he was Captain, Worrell's request was denied. The conservatives, now as then, were firmly and roughly in charge.

I have said all this to arrive at a point where I can discuss Mr. 'Doocha' Persaud. He too, like Moonsammy and Mendonca, was denied the opportunity to allow his talent to flower. Most Guyanese have never heard of him. I certainly didn't. Persaud only came to my attention when I received a letter from Shan Razack in September of last year. In that letter he described the tragedy of 'Doocha' Persaud. Through no fault of his own, Persaud missed out on the West Indies tour to England in 1939. When I read this I was intrigued. For here was a Guyanese player good enough to be considered for the West Indies as early as the third tour of the West Indies to England. Yet I had never come across this information in any of the writings on the history of cricket in this country or that of the West Indies.

If 'Doocha' Persaud had gone to England in 1939, he certainly would have been the first Indo-West Indian player to represent the region. As it was, this honour was to fall to Sonny Ramadhin in 1950. The reason or reasons for Persaud's omission must not remain a forgotten issue in the history of Cricket in the Caribbean. They contain lessons which are too large and too big to ignore. For from all accounts Persaud did well in the trials before the tour to England and should have been selected.

Recently, I was re-reading the autobiography of Wilton "Jinks" Angoy, the first Secretary of the Guyana Cricket Board, "Guyana Man" and I came across the following quotation:

I had never disbelieved Shan Razack, but 'Doocha' Persaud came alive in this quotation. There he is with such well known cricketers as Prior Jones, Rupert Tang Choon, George Carew, Berkeley Gaskin and Robert Christiani.

The history of Cricket in Guyana is yet to be written. When such a history is written, I do hope that the man who was good enough to be considered for a place in the West Indies team as early as 1939 is given the attention he deserves.

'Doocha' Persaud from all accounts must be given his place in the annals of Cricket in Guyana.