Cricketers, fans share ‘Prestige’ incentives

Prestige Holdings Limited, parent company for Pizza Hut, spiced up the annual North vs South Gerry Gomez Cricket Classic match with great incentives for both players and spectators. They are spending a whopping $40,000 to promote the match between the  traditional rival teams which comprise members of the national training squad. It is the biggest incentive package for a single four-day match in the Caribbean. And it was through their CEO Dane Darbasie’s initiative the company decided to sponsor the match, which honours one of TT’s and Queen’s Park Cricket Club stalwart administrator Gerry Gomez who distinguished himself as a West Indies Test allrounder and club president. With the country’s leading players involved, this game was once recognised by the WICB and ICC as a First Class match between 1959 and 1985.

During that era, former Test player Bryan Davis held the highest individual score of 188 not out for North at the Oval, 1967. But it was Gomez who notched 189 in 1947 and held the overall North-South batting record before world record holder Brian Lara eclipsed that score with a magnificent unbeaten 206 in 1998. Gomez stills holds the record for the North vs South best all-round performance of  78 runs and five wickets for 38 for North in 1948. He is also one of four players who captained both South (1943) and  North (1947-48). His discipline and dedication brought rich rewards in these showdowns. Gomez’s feats still feature among the batting record-holders with two long-standing partnerships. Together with Kenny Trestrail (134 not out) in 1945, they posted 218 for the third wicket of which his contribution was 124.

Two years later, he was at it again with Rupert Tang Choon (105) as they amassed 217 for the fifth wicket. Gomez got 189, which remained the highest individual score for 51years, until Lara surpassed it. George Dewhurst, Prior Jones and Nyron Asgarali were the others who had that special honour of leading both teams in the match which pits the nation’s leading cricketers against each other. In 1997 the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board, in consultation with Queen’s Park officials agreed to honour the late Gerry Gomez by ascribing his name  to the annual cricket classic. Overall Gomez scored 1,243 Test runs and took 58 wickets. And during his colourful first class career he scored 6,764 runs (average 43.63) including 14 centuries with 216 not out against Barbados at the Oval in 1943 as his highest individual score.