Captain Peter Short has died and Barbados is the weaker for it. This meritorious gentleman will be remembered for his outstanding leadership of Wanderers, Barbados and West Indies cricket. He will also be forever treasured by many for his classy and informed radio commentary at official functions such as the opening of Parliament and Royal visits. He was an iconic figure in Barbadian life.
To me, I will never forget that he was the one who, against loud and influential voices, supported a proposal from Tony King to allow me the opportunity to be of national service in school and junior cricket. He even allowed me to be the lead voice at a meeting with Colonel Rudyard Lewis after the late Winston Skinner and I had arranged for cricket to be part of the Defence Force Sports Programme. His faith and trust in me have never left my thoughts and I will forever be indebted to Captain Peter Short.
My first real interaction with Short came when he played for Wanderers against St Lucy Secondary where I was the playing master in charge of cricket. This man in his fifties batted doggedly until I instructed our fastest bowler (Myzil Boyce) to give him two bouncers, the second of which claimed his wicket. He gloved it to gully. Notwithstanding this, I was amazed to see how he took the time at the end of the day to gather the boys around and give of his advice and guidance gained through years of experience.
Later, during my stint as manager of the Combined Schools North, his quality of care and support were also manifest during a game at Dayrells Road. He welcomed me with open arms, pointed out observed strengths and weaknesses in individual players as well as recommendations for improvement. He also took time to have some of the players interact with Richard Edwards and other former Barbados stalwarts. He really took an interest and even created opportunities beyond these shores that have remained largely confidential. He was interested in helping and not in broadcasting his immense generosity.
As things would have it, I had the privilege to serve on the board of management under his leadership. People may claim that there were no divisions on that board, but I totally disagree. There were divisions but his leadership ensured that opposing points of view were heard and positive solutions arrived at. This was good leadership in its truest form. One defining difference between a Short board and those that I subsequently served on was that no meeting went past nine o’clock as compared to those where two in the morning became the norm.Â
As my involvement in junior cricket grew, Short became an even more ever present supporter. I remember him sitting under the trees in Queen’s Park to witness the first ever Under-19 schools final that I had organised. I remember him on the little bench at Banks Breweries commending me for pushing through the first Under-13 schools final and discussing how we could improve it to fit the name of Sir Everton Weekes, who was obviously one of his heroes.Â
Short even took the time to accompany Basil Matthews and me to the Broad Street branch of CIBC when the late Paul Best positively responded to my approach to give the first sponsorship to the Under-19 tournament. Of course, he was there at Carlton to give out the first trophy under this new regime. He did not speak about support; he gave through his presence and his actions.
One memory that I will now speak of for the first time involved a situation in which he was seen by some, including me, as being less than fair to one of our board colleagues. I called him at his home and expressed my feelings and my support for the other individual. He disagreed with me and gave his explanation. After our virtual agreement to disagree, he thanked me for the call and expressed great respect for the fact that I had taken the time to approach him in that manner. He was exceptionally gracious, and his interaction with me continued in that vein on every subsequent occasion that we met. He earned my unstinting respect and admiration!
I will treasure the memory of Captain Peter Short. I also extend my sincere condolence to his entire family and especially to his son Wally, who was one of my Ronald Tree opponents, his daughter Sally, who has always been the quintessence of respect and charm as well as to his grandson Simon, with whom I spent a lot of time during his junior cricket days. Captain, you have served your country well, and now your country salutes you as your ship of service has docked in port for its final time. You, I am in no doubt, will rest in peace!
Jeff Broomes is an experienced educator, principal and community organiser who also served as a vice president of the BCA and director of the WICB.  Email: [email protected]