KINGSTON, Jamaica – Noted Jamaican cricket writer Tony Becca responding to the passing of Tony Cozier, one of the most revered and iconic voices in international cricket commentary at the Bayview Hospital in Beckles Road, Barbados earlier today said Cozier had tremendous influence on the game in the region.

“Tony could walk in the halls of power in West Indies cricket and they would listen.

“He was tremendous, he knew his cricket so well and was respected in every country cricket was played for his knowledge, his commentating skills and his writing. He was the voice of West Indies cricket across the world.

“He helped so many West Indian cricketers and was simply the best ever,” Becca said: “I have lost a very, very, very good friend.

Cozier, 75, who has covered almost every West Indies series since 1962, was the most respected cricket writer, broadcaster and historian to have come out of the Caribbean.

His son, Craig, a former Barbados hockey player who has been working as a television producer in the Indian Premier League, was flying home from India to be at his father’s bedside.

Cozier, a father of two – he also has a daughter, Natalie – was married to Jillian, a hockey stalwart.

In the 1960s, he was the lone Caribbean voice in the international commentary box on major tours of Australia, England, India and New Zealand.

His West Indian Cricket Annual, produced in the 1970s, provided extensive coverage of Shell Shield and Test cricket and was a must-read for Caribbean cricket lovers.

Cozier was also a former NATION Senior Editor and SUNDAY SUN Editor. 

OBSERVER ONLINE, BARBADOS NATION