VOLUME Two of a History of Cricket in Guyana is not just about the accounts of cricket games played over 100 years ago in British Guiana; it underscores how those games galvanised our people and the impact the sport had on our society.

Professor Clem Seecharan, though the support of the Hand-in-Hand Group of Companies, encapsulated these achievements in an entertaining and informative way in his 758-page second book of the series, which he officially launched at the world-famous Georgetown Cricket Club on Friday night.

The accolades for the author were great and the audience included generations of cricketers from the legendary West Indies players Lance Gibbs, Roger Harper, Dr Shivnarine Chanderpaul, and current national captain Leon Johnson, to a few cricketers now trying to make their names in the sport.

Among the notables who addressed the audience were Chairman of Hand-in-Hand Group of Companies John Carpenter, Dr Ian McDonald, the author himself, Harper, Gibbs, Minister of Social Cohesion with responsible for Culture, Youth and Sport Dr George Norton and Sales Manager of the Group of Companies Shanomae Baptiste, who gave the vote of thanks.
Carpenter said that Hand-in-Hand was honoured to have played a part in the venture and that the series, which analyses cricket from 1865 to 1867 (Volume One) and 1898-1914 (Volume Two), begs a Volume Three.

It was also emphasised that the Hand-in-Hand Company which started in 1865 also played a part in the integral development during the time of the publications. This year marks 140 years since construction started at the company’s head office.

WORK OF ART
Dr McDonald, who has known Seecharan for over three decades, paid respect to his commitment to his craft. He said that the author’s dedication to work, combined with his narrative skills, became a work of art.
The renowned author also called Seecharan the “most appropriate author” to do the volumes.

Also showing adoration for the cricket series was Minister Norton, who called the professor’s series a well-researched publication and an inspiration.
“Your book helps us to better appreciate the importance of cricket in our society. As a politician, I would be happy if more of us can understand the importance of cricket in Guyana.”

The minister added that he was confident that the series of books would serve to educate and enlighten many generations about Guyana’s past cricketing heroes.
In highlighting how integral a role cricket has played in our past, Gibbs pointed out that there were some aspects of the game that the book did not cover, since backyard and alleyway games were not documented. The 84-year-old then took the crowd on a nostalgic journey when different versions of cricket were common and makeshift apparatuses were used as bat and ball.

STAGNATION OF CRICKET
Seecharan, who read for a doctorate in History at the University of Warwick in 1990, examines the stagnation of the game in colonial Guyana in the decade and a half before the Great War.

He said that despite the flamboyance of GCC – founded in 1858 – which was vibrant in fostering regional cricket, “Guyanese cricket was marooned on a plateau of underachievement”.

He added that the topography of the land and the share magnitude of the rainforest was a breeding ground for malaria which was one of the main hindrances when it came to the quality of cricket being played by our former cricketers.
The 16 years of analysis filled many holes that existed about our past – one that will be kept alive through Seecharan’s undertaking.