America’s top diplomat in Jamaica Nick Perry will be inducted into the United States Cricket Hall of Fame on Friday, September 2, 2022.

The induction is scheduled for Melbourne Cricket Club in St Andrew and will involve a number of Hall of Fame officials, as well as existing Hall of Famers and diaspora cricket lovers who are on the island for a series of cricketing events starting today involving teams from across the island.

According to Cricket Hall of Fame spokesman Charles Simpson, the event was originally scheduled for Hartford, Connecticut on October 1. However, Ambassador Perry suggested that with the Hall of Famers’ presence in Jamaica for the next few weeks now would be the best time.

“We had a meeting this morning with the president of Melbourne and now all is clear for that event, and we will be staging it on Friday morning at the Melbourne Club,” Simpson told the Jamaica Observer on Monday.

Simpson, who is well-known both in the United States and his home country for promoting the game, pointed out that Perry had made a remarkable contribution to the sport in his 30 years as an assemblyman representing cricket-loving West Indians in the diaspora, as well as being one of the most respected and popular members of that community in the tri-state area.

“He has made a tremendous contribution to the development of cricket in New York, and that is one of the reasons he is being honoured by the Cricket Hall of Fame,” Simpson explained.

Noah Nickolas “Nick” Perry succeeded the Republican Donald R Tapia in March. Perry was appointed by current US President Joseph Biden, on the advice of influential New York Senator Chuck Schumer. He is the first person born in Jamaica to hold this position.

Born and raised in Kingston, Perry completed his secondary education at Kingston College on a full scholarship and worked as a trade unionist for the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union before travelling to the US in the summer of 1971.

He was first elected to the New York State Assembly in 1992 to represent the 58th Assembly District, which was newly reapportioned to Brooklyn. He won unopposed in November 2020 for his 15th consecutive two-year term. In 2020, he was elected and served as a Biden-pledged delegate.

Perry was, up to recently, assistant speaker pro tempore of the New York State Assembly, and regional vice-chairman (Region 2, NY & PA) of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators. He currently serves on the New York Assembly committees on Rules, Ways & Means, Codes, Banks, Labour, and Transportation.

He is also the former chairman of the New York State Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic, and Asian Legislative Caucus.

He is married with two children.

The US Cricket Hall of Fame was founded in 1980 to celebrate the sport, its heroes and supporters who, over the years, have used the game to advance economic and quality of life development in local communities.

Its community engagement programmes are supported by private, academic, and government sectors. Its partnership programmes bridge gaps between formal education, informal learning, meaningful careers, purposeful lives and workforce development.