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Three thousand Barbadians turned up at Kensington Oval yesterday to show their appreciation to one of this country's most reliable servants in regional cricket.

And for Winston Reid, the moment was more than special. It was emotional. It nearly brought him to tears.

The statistics of the match itself were irrelevant. For the record, a side captained by Reid convincingly beat a President's XI team led by Roland Holder by the comfortable margin of 68 runs.

But this was more than about runs and wickets. It was about saying thank you to the 38-year-old left-arm spinner who performed with distinction for Barbados in 14 seasons of first-class cricket.

It was overwhelming. I thought I would have come to tears at some point in time, Reid said afterwards.

It's good to see that the cricketing public really cares.

They didn't have to do it because Sunday is normally a day for families in Barbados. But still they took their time off to lend their support and I am really thankful and grateful for it.

Every single cent from gate receipts will go to Reid, and when the kitty is added to the proceeds from the sale of a special brochure, he is expected to receive close to $30 000 from a venture that was organised mainly by the Barbados Cricket Association.

To represent your country for a number of years and for it to culminate in something like this is a real honour. And I want to thank all the people who put it together and especially the public of Barbados for supporting me throughout the years, said Reid, who took 205 wickets (ave. 23.08) in 55 first-class matches between 1986 and 1999.

Not only locals showed their appreciation.

Retired West Indies fast bowler Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose made it a priority to be here.

Ambrose sent down a typically mean spell of five overs in which he conceded 12 runs, and no cricket match would be complete without the famous leave-alone by Walsh.

Gordon Greenidge did not do much with the bat, but at least he reeled off one of his typical short-arm pulls. Desmond Haynes did not get going either, but to the surprise of many he conceded only 13 runs from his three overs of medium-pace.

Naturally, the presence of such distinguished persons meant a lot to Reid.

When I look back throughout the years and see the guys that I played with and against some of the great world-beaters it was a moment of nostalgia,he said.

I really enjoyed the moment to be out there on the field with them again.

By the way, Reid faced just a solitary ball from Alcindo Holder, which he did not negotiate and was bowled.

I just played right across the ball. That should tell the youngster he must always play straight, Reid said with a laugh.

Reid's XI posted 215 for eight off their 40 overs, a total which was beefed up towards the end of the innings by Hendy Bryan's whirlwind unbeaten 44 off 23 balls. It was enough to win him the Man-Of-The- Match award of a weekend for two at Sam Lord's Castle.

The President's XI never challenged the total, in spite of an attractive 45 from teenaged wicket-keeper/batsman Patrick Browne, who was one of three wickets for Sherwin Campbell.

© The Barbados Nation