Kumar offers unflinching support to GCB at magazine launching
Here you go, Mr Director! Officially, Secretary of the GCB Anand Sanasie (3rd from left) presents Director of Sport Neil Kumar with a copy of the Guyana Cricketer, while from left, Rayon Griffith, Rajendra Singh and Fizul Bacchus proudly display a copy of the Magazine. (Photo by Sonell Nelson)
Here you go, Mr Director! Officially, Secretary of the GCB Anand Sanasie (3rd from left) presents Director of Sport Neil Kumar with a copy of the Guyana Cricketer, while from left, Rayon Griffith, Rajendra Singh and Fizul Bacchus proudly display a copy of the Magazine. (Photo by Sonell Nelson)

DIRECTOR of Sport within the National Sports Commission, Neil Kumar, yesterday offered his unflinching support to the Dru Bahadur-steward Guyana Cricket Board (GCB), saying “I need to see cricket playing on the fields and not in the courts,”Kumar was at the time delivering some brief remarks at the launching of the GCB’s inaugural annual magazine entitled ‘The Guyana Cricketer’. The event was held on the upper deck of the Georgetown Cricket Club pavilion.
Present at the launching were Digicel’s Sponsorship and Events Manager Gavin Hope, secretary of the GCB Anand Sanasie, Marketing manager of the GCB Rajendra Singh and GCB vice-president Faizal Bacchus, along with other special invitees.
“First of all, let me congratulate the GCB on having both Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Shemaine Campbelle awarded the NSC Sportsman and Sportswoman-of-the-Year 2013, since it was a remarkable achievement by both individuals.
Concerning the magazine, I wish to say it is a really good effort on the part of the GCB. The fact that they can get so many sponsors tells that persons recognise that they are doing something for cricket in Guyana,” said Kumar.
He added, “Sponsors only come to you when you have accountability, transparency and you are giving them good mileage and I always say this, and if the GCB executive was not doing something good, then they would not have been able to acquire such an amount of sponsorship for this magazine.”
Alluding to the fact that both Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan were unable to make the final 11 for Guyana’s first round contest in this year’s West Indies Cricket Board’s Regional four-day contest against Jamaica yesterday, Kumar called on the GCB to take cognisant of the fact that they are injured and conduct an investigation.
“We knew before that Johnson (Leon) would not be playing and I think that with Christopher Gayle, Marlon Samuels and Nikita Miller not playing for Jamaica in this game, it would have been wonderful for us to come away with a win and Guyana need these two players,” stated Kumar.
He reminded the GCB that they can depend on him for his unflinching support, since it his will to see the game being played on the field and not in the courts, while he wished to see the GCB producing more youth players.
“I think the GCB should start focusing now on the youths, such as the Under-15 and U-19 tournaments. Start focusing on preparing those teams now in the same manner you prepared the senior team for the NAGICO Super50 tournament.
“It was quite distressing to me to see the effort that was put in by the GCB in training and preparing that team and at the end of the day they have come up not physically fit, with two of our key players that are there not well, as this is a good match for Guyana to start with a win,” said Kumar.
He congratulated the GCB on their efforts in producing the magazine which is being distributed free of cost, calling on them to make it an annual feature and even encouraged them to attach a small purchasing fee for a copy in the future.
Prior to Kumar’s remarks, Singh said the idea of the magazine came from Dru Bahadur some six months ago at a monthly meeting of the GCB and he was given the unenviable task of making the project a reality.
“The major objectives of the Magazine was to document and showcase the achievements of our cricketers, the tournaments administered by the GCB, to have some feature articles completed by some prominent cricket journalists and generally to improve the communication process with the GCB and the cricketing public during the year under review,” said Singh.
He added, “The Guyana Cricketer is no longer a dream, but a reality today, marking a significant achievement in the GCB’s history, as not only are we celebrating 70 years of service, but may very well be the only sporting entity in Guyana that has produced such a classy publication.”
In his opening remarks, Sanasie said the Magazine, which was printed by Krsna and Balram Printers after negotiations between the GCB and printer, and includes feature articles on Chanderpaul and rising star Ronaldo Ali Mohammed, will be distributed around Guyana, the Caribbean and the Diaspora.
When obtained, cricket enthusiasts can find in the Magazine, a foreword from WICB president Whycliffe ‘Dave’ Cameron, messages from Kumar and Dru Bahadur, Sanasie’s report for 2013, the GCB’s 2013 Awards Ceremony, an all-time Under-19 Guyana XI, features on Chanderpaul and Ali-Mohammed and the GCB Report for 2013.
Also listed within the full colour glossy magazine is the GCB’s proposed calendar of events for 2014, which has the Limacol Under-15 two-day tournament that is set to commence on March 23 as an upcoming event, along with a thank-you to the long and growing list of sponsors.
By Calvin Roberts

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