Gomez great sportsman, gentleman

FORMER Trinidad and West Indies allround cricketer Gerry Gomez was yesterday hailed as an outstanding sportsman and gentleman. And his untimely death eight years ago while playing tennis was lamented as a great loss of an outstanding citizen to the twin island republic. This lavish praise was dished out by Alloy Lequay, Chief Executive Officer of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board, himself the dominant sports administrator of his era. Lequay was asked to describe Gomez, less than a week before North meet South in the traditional four-day classic, the Pizza Hut/Gerry Gomez Classic at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain.

“He added much both to cricket as a player and administrator as he was involved in all aspects of the game as selector, manager, commentator and even umpire in a Test match,” Lequay fondly recalled yesterday in a telephone inverview from his TTCB office in Balmain, Couva. “He was well respected by all members of the national and cricket fraternity. And it is significant that he died on the ‘playing field’ while playing tennis,” said Lequay with regret. “Sports was very precious to him and as a gentleman he had a high level of moral integrity and respected his friends ad well as his adversaries,” he said.

“When he passed away Trinidad and Tobago lost an outstanding citizen. He was the best allrounder this country has produced and among his peers were Jeffrey Stollmeyer, Andy Ganteaume and Nyron Asgarali,” Lequay recalled yesterday. The top cricket official said Gomez was plucked from his classroom at Queen’s Royal College in Port-of-Spain in 1939 to make his debut in the Second Test against England in Manchester. Incidentally he also played his last Test against the English, in the Fifth Test of the 1953-1954 series. Gerald (Gerry) Ethridge Gomez was born on October 10, 1919 in Belmont and died on August 6, 1996. He played 29 Tests for the West Indies scoring 1,243 runs with one century at an average of 30.31. He had a highest score of 101.

He also collected 58 wickets with best figures of seven for 55 and had one five-wicket haul. On Wednesday, Prestige Holdings hosted a media conference to launch this year’s cricket classic at the Oval at which new Marketing Manager Kurtis Rudd revealed a flood of incentives and prizes for the players and spectators. Also speaking was Bruce Aanensen of the Queen’s Park Cricket Club of which Gomez was a member and later captain of the team, perennial national champions who attracted the best players in the country. Aanensen said Queen’s Park got involved in the annual match as a tribute to Gomez and wanted his memory to live on as the greatest allrounder produced by Trinidad and Tobago. “Gomez was a man of stature, highly respected as a cricketer and businessman and the type of individual we want the young players to look up to and to emulate,” said Aanensen.

The Parkite representative also paid tribute to the TTCB and sponsors Pizza Hut for remaining dedicated and committed to the classic which he said provided a special attraction to the young cricketers. “We have seen that a team devoid of star players can fulfil the best expectations. People will operate at the level of expectations,” Aanensen said referring to the triumph of the young Trinidad and Tobago team in the recent President’s Cup regional limited overs competition. He congratulated Pizza Hut for offering $40,000 in prizes and incentives which he said are certain to lure back the crowds to the match and produce exciting and entertaining cricket.