Passionate Rangy
Former T&T captain given large sendoff
Published on Mar 26, 2016, 11:06 pm AST
By Susan Mohammed
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PASSIONATE.
That was the word used by almost all who paid tribute to late West Indies and national spin bowler Rangy Nanan who died this week.
Nanan’s funeral was held at the Inshan Ali Recreation Ground in Couva, the home ground of his former club Preysal Cricket Club.
Nanan’s son, Kevin Nanan, said that although his father had left the game professionally in 1991, he never left the sport.
“Dad was a great man known for his commitment and passion for the sport. He cherished his times as a national cricketer. He would often share his stories of his travels with the team. And no story was complete without tearsâ€, said the son.
Kevin Nanan recalled that some of his father’s prouder moments was when he (Kevin) qualified for the Trinidad and Tobago Under-15 team, and later was named the captain of the Balmain United Cricket Club. “My father’s support for me was unquestionableâ€, he said.
Nanan suffered a stroke four years ago, and Kevin Nanan said his father “had skills†because although he could no longer bowl with his right hand, he used his left to bowl to his two grandsons. He said his mother, Martha, never left his side after his father suffered the stroke.
Chairman of the Preysal Cricket Club and close friend Tony Harford said a few months ago Nanan was inducted into the National Hall of Fame. “Then I described Rangy as having a ‘demented relish for the game of cricket’. “People didn’t quite understand why I used the word demented for Rangy. But such was his love for the game of cricket. He played the game with a seriousness of purpose, with respect, and with the characteristics of a soldier at war. And yet he fully understood the opportunities for friendship and brotherhood. Rangy would simply drench you with blood on the playing field, and the minute you emerged from the playing field he would hug you, boast that you couldn’t get the better of him and then proceed to share all his knowledge with you. You had no choice but to love the manâ€, said Harford.
Former president of Preysal Cricket Club and Nanan’s childhood friend, ex-T&T captain Theo “Ozzie†Cuffy, said Nanan “smiled with everyone until he hit the cricket field. I spoke to Rangy on Tuesday and nothing affected him more than the poor performances of the West Indies and Trinidad and Tobago cricket teams. He had a great love for cricket and for his family. He was a fighter to the endâ€, said Cuffy.
Former opening batsman Suruj Ragoonath remembered that Nanan had “white line feverâ€. “He was the most friendly person but he transformed when he came onto the field. Whatever Rangy did he gave it his best. His passion for cricket never dwindled. He later became a selector and executive member of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB). His mark was not only left on the record books but in our hearts and mindsâ€, said Ragoonath.
Nanan served as a policeman for approximately ten years with the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service, and one of his colleagues, Senior Superintendent Christopher Lewis said when he (Nanan) played on the TTPS’s cricket team, “he always played to win. Whenever I think of Rangy, I think cricket. He had a passion for it.†President of the TTCB Azim Bassarath said that the board regretted his passing and remembered him not only as an excellent player but as a “great human beingâ€.
“He served with dignity at all times and all levelsâ€, said Bassarath.
Also giving tributes were former national cricketers Justice Prakash Moosai and Zahir Ali.
Among the hundreds in attendance were former West Indies batsman and T&T captain Larry Gomes, Justice Anthony Lucky, former minister of Science, Technology and Tertiary Education Fazal Karim, former Trinidad and Tobago fast bowler Tony Gray, former manager of the Trinidad and Tobago cricket team Omar Khan and TTCB board member Dr Allen Sammy.
Nanan was buried at the Preysal Public Cemetery.
