Late Scarlett a true stalwart

Cricket West Indies (CWI) president Ricky Skerritt has praised late former Jamaica and West Indies leg-spinner Reggie ‘Reg’ Scarlett as a “true stalwart” who gave his all to cricket.

Scarlett, who played three Tests on England’s tour of the Caribbean in 1960, passed away Wednesday in England after battling illness.

He was one day short of his 85th birthday.

“Reg was a true stalwart who never stopped loving West Indies cricket while he lived in England,” Skerritt said in a statement.

“He served the game selflessly, both on and off the field, until he retired in Grenada several years ago and continued to make his input into cricket development.”

Following his playing career, which included 17 first-class matches for Jamaica, Scarlett spent 15 years coaching in England, where he settled, while also playing minor-league cricket.

Similar coaching stints followed in Jamaica and England again before he finally returned to the region to become CWI’s first director of coaching and played a key role in the setting-up of the now-defunct Shell Cricket Academy at St George’s University in Grenada.