BERBICE Under-15 middle-order batsman Chanderpaul Govindan copped the prestigious Cricketer-of-the-Year Cricket Academy award as the curtain came down on a highly successful RHTYSC, M.S/TCL Cricket Academy recently. The closing ceremony of the Academy was held at the St Francis Community Developers Training Centre and was attended by all ninety-four (94) young cricketers who successfully completed the two-week Camp which was held from July 11 to 23 at the Club’s Area ‘H’ Ground.
The Academy was described as the most successful in the 26-year history by Club Secretary/CEO Hilbert Foster, who hailed the work of coaches Winston Smith, Delbert Hicks and Berbice senior player Eon Hooper.
Foster stated that the future of the RHTYSC as a major cricketing force is secure. He disclosed that the young cricketers were coached on batting, bowling, fielding and wicket-keeping, while a lot of work was done on the physical fitness of each player. Several classroom lectures were also done.
Foster, who was serving as Director of the Cricket Academy for the 26th consecutive year, urged the attentive cricketers to develop a culture of discipline, hard work and dedication if they want to succeed in life.
The Club, Foster stated, has Guyana’s largest cricket nursery and will continue to invest heavily in youths to make sure that everyone fulfils his/her potential.
Head coach Winston Smith congratulated the academy members for their remarkable discipline and attitude, which he described as excellent.
The top twelve awardees of the 2016 Cricket Academy were Best Batsman – Civion Arokium, Best Bowler – Diana Prahalad, Most Disciplined – Matthew Prass, Best Under-13 Player – Christopher Deroop, Best Under-15 – Neil Tillakrum, Best Under-17 – Vijay Gopilall, Best Under-19 – David Prahalad, Best Female Player – Sheneta Grimmond, Most Committed Player – Anthony February, Most Promising Player – Matthew Pottaya, Best Attendance/Attitude – Vishal Naidu and Cricketer-of-the-Academy – Chanderpaul Govindan.
Each of the awardees received a schoolbag and a collection of educational materials, while Govindan also received a trophy and medal.
The RHTYSC, MS, would like to express gratitude to Bakewell, Bermudez, Guyana Beverage Company, DDL, Spready’s Snackette, H.A Snacks Co. Ltd, Southland International, the Guyana Cricket Board, WR Enterprise (Narine Trading), Food for the Poor, Ramoo Funeral Home, DTV-8, LRTVS CH10, Louise Nero, Kaieteur News, Guyana Chronicle and Guyana Times for their cooperation in making the academy a success.
Special thanks also to Director of Sport Christopher Jones for his donation of cricket gear.