… with sponsorship money in excess of  G$2.5M 
THE annual Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) El Dorado Inter-county 50-overs competition was officially launched yesterday in the boardroom of the GCB office and will get under way on Saturday  in Berbice at the Blairmont Community Centre ground.
At the function, which was attended by president of the GCB, Chetram Singh, and executive members of the board along with the sponsor’s brand manager for El Dorado, Maria Munroe, it was disclosed that the total sponsorship for the tourney is in excess of G $2.5M.
Singh said in his opening remarks that with the successful staging of the tournament they hope that the selectors get a good chance to choose the best team for the upcoming Regional 50-over tournament which begins next month.
Singh noted: “This tournament has been very important to our local players over the years and I am sure they will make the most of the opportunity. It is a tournament that is not only important to the players but it is also important to the GCB.”
Fortunately for the GCB all of their experienced players will be available for the tournament so with the likes of Ramnaresh Sarwan, Sewnarine Chattergoon, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Travis Dowlin and Lennox Cush among others, the Guyanese team will boast a good side entering the tournament.
According to the long-serving president, the partnership with DDL over the years has been quite a successful one and that their sponsorship to the board is extremely important since cricket is not at its highest demand.
Speaking on behalf of her company, Ms Munroe said “once again Demerara Distillers Limited through its El Dorado brand is pleased to be partnering with the GCB in the hosting of this year’s El Dorado 50-over Cricket Competition.
She stated that it was the company’s pledge to continue to support the development of the sport in Guyana and cricket in particular.
She also acknowledged that the competition is rather important and promised that this year’s final will be bigger and better than the previous years because of the promotions that the company has planned for the event.
In conclusion Ms.Munroe charged the teams to perform at their best and urged the general public to come out and support their local players.
Defending Champions, Berbice oppose the Essequibo team from 09:30 h at the Blairmont Community Centre ground. The competition continues on Sunday with Berbice challenging their tougher rivals, Demerara at the Georgetown Cricket Club ground.
The round robin competition will then see Demerara face Essequibo at Wakenaam on Wednesday, October 6 in the last preliminary match. The top two teams will then clash in the final on Saturday October 9 at the Guyana National Stadium which will be a day-night match scheduled to bowl off at 13:30 h.
Questions were raised about taking one of the matches to Wakenaam but according to Singh the ground is up to regional standard and when discussed within the board they decided that it was indeed a good move.
An entrance fee of $500 will be charged for the final while for the preliminary matches spectators will pay $300 except for the showdown at the GCC ground where admission is free.