Joey Carew passes on

‘Mr.Knowledge’ is no more. Saturday night, Trinidad and Tobago and the West Indies lost one the greatest servants of cricket in the region, then Michael ‘Joey’ Carew passed on at the age of 73, at his home at Warren Street Woodbrook, Port-of-Spain.

Carew’s eldest son Michael who played for T&T’s senior team as a left handed middle order batsman said his father passed on at around 11pm on Saturday  and they are awaiting an autopsy to find out the exact cause of death. “We are not too sure of the cause of death but I think it had something to do with a blocked artery. We are awaiting the report from the autopsy to get the official cause of death.”

Joey Carew

Michael added that the country knew his father as a leader and he choose to leave as a leader. “He was a leader, the head of our household and he would be sadly missed. He was the kind of man who would have wanted us to carry on and not sulk over his passing. He was known to the people of this country as a leader and he left as a leader.”

National captain Daren Ganga said Carew was a local legend and one who had impacted on his career. “It was an esteemed honour in knowing Joey Carew and I must say he was always a great help to me. I would like to send condolences on behalf of the entire Trinidad and Tobago Cricket team to his family.”

Ganga added that the team will be going all out to win the regional T20 cricket series in memory of Carew. “We are here in Antigua to begin our T20 quest and we were greeted with this terrible news. However, we will dedicate this series to him and we want to badly win this tournament in his honour.”

Manager of the T&T team Omar Khan said the players will be showing respect to Carew, by wearing black armbands when they hit the field on Thursday against the Leewards. The entire team is saddened by Carew’s passing because he would have dealt with each of them at some time in their career. They want to do something for him and they will start by wearing black armbands when the T20 tournament starts on Thursday.”

Former president of the T&T Cricket Board (TTCB), Deryck Murray who played alongside Carew said he would be best remembered for being the hub which many things revolved around.  “Where ever Joey was he was also central to whatever topic was being discussed, be it serious or otherwise. He was such a fun loving guy that he drew people to him.

“The public perception of Joey was one of him being a very hard and aggressive captain, who enjoyed a lot of success on the field for Trinidad and Tobago. In the early times he was able to bring T&T back-to-back titles in 1971 and 1972 and for this he was showered with great accolades.

“I think that cricket has lost a great man because he was totally passionate about the sport. He would look at cricket at every level and visit every recreation ground to look at the players. He was always available to assist young players and he would be sadly missed.”

President of the TTCB, Azim Bassarath said Carew’s passing was a big loss to cricket in the region as he was like a godfather to many cricketers not only here but also in the Islands. “Joey was a household name in the West Indies not only in Trinidad. He was such a lovely person that cricketers felt comfortable in going to him for assistance. He did a lot for our world champion batsman Brian Lara and this showed just how good the man was.

“One behalf of the entire Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB), I will like to send condolences to his entire family in this time of grief and to let them know that the nation as a whole share in their loss.”

Carew played 19 Test matches for the West Indies scoring 1127 runs at an average of 34.15. Included in his tally was a century and five half centuries.  He also took eight Test wickets. After his playing days was over he also enjoyed two stints as a West Indies selector and he resigned his post in 2006.