-Harper lauds decision by GCB head
TELECOMMUNICATIONS giant Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) yesterday made another historic achievement in their annals, when they partnered with the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) by offering sponsorship to the tune of G$1m towards that entity’s cricket teams.
One half of the sponsorship sum was handed over yesterday following a simple ceremony in the GT&T canteen, at which former Guyana and West Indies all rounder and president of the Georgetown Cricket Association Roger Harper lauded the president of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) for a public announcement he made at the recently held Airtel Champions League in South Africa.
Prior to the handing over of the cheque, many cricket board officials including both Singh and Harper, along with the BCB’s president and Public Relations Officer (PRO) in Keith and Hilbert Foster along with Marketing Director of GT&T Wystan Robertson made brief remarks.
While congratulating the BCB on their achievement, which is the first of its kind in Guyana, Harper further congratulated the GCB head, who said all proceeds received by the GCB from the Champions League will go towards the development of cricket here in Guyana.
“Congratulations to the BCB for the outstanding work they have done, along with this outstanding partnership with GT&T to take the game of cricket forward, or in their situation, to another level.
Certainly, a few cricket Associations and boards need to take now not only a few leaves but a few chapters and if possible the whole book on Cricket Administration by the BCB as theirs is a success story when it comes to the administering of cricket in Guyana.”
He added; “The recent success of the female West Indies team of which three Berbicians were a part of is the perfect example of the hard work and commitment thrown into cricket by the Ancient County board and I do hope they (BCB) remain focus not only for the players, especially the young ones, but the game of cricket.
Added to that, I must thank the president of the GCB for his public announcement made to the world during the Champions League in South Africa, wherein he said the monies earned from that tournament would go towards the development of cricket, with the plans set to be outlined at a later date.”
BCB president Keith Foster expressed heartfelt gratitude to the sponsors while comparing the deal to that of a new relationship.
“This is like the starting of a relationship, where individuals look for longevity and with GT&T being known for their pioneering ways to do things, this step by the BCB is a pioneering move to further strengthen the game of cricket in Berbice.
I am also happy that GT&T can see something happening further down the road with regards to cricket in Berbice and with they (GT&T) doing a wonderful job in serving Guyana and the BCB serving Guyana’s cricket on the other hand, certainly this is a relationship that will go a long way and the BCB wishes to assure GT&T we will continue to do good and look good in the field thanks to them.”
The PRO who is also the head of the BCB’s Special Events Committee, outlined the sponsorship deal which will see the BCB’s Under-15, 17, 19, ‘A’, senior and female teams being the beneficiaries for the period October 2010 to December 2011.
“There can be no doubt, that over the last three years cricket has undergone remarkable revolution wherein the passion, commitment and discipline that was missing for so long has returned and today Berbice is at an all time high due to sheer hard work, commitment, visionary and forward planning and leadership.
Over the past three years, we have had several moments that has been historic, with the first ever cricket academy, awards ceremony, Berbice ‘A’ team, Elite Senior training programme, Annual Magazine, Under-13 tournament, Inter-zone tournament at all levels and charity programmes and they have all changed the way how the BCB is being viewed in the Ancient County,” stated Foster.
He continued to state, “Today we are gathered for another historic moment, which to my mind is the mother of all historic moments as it would be the first time a local cricket board has been able to secure sponsorship for their inter-county teams. The BCB and GT&T through its Cellink brand have joined hands to have all of the Ancient County teams sponsored.”
According to Foster, the agreement to sponsor the BCB teams was done before they even engaged GT&T in a round table conference and when they eventually did so, all that was needed was an agreement on the terms of the sponsorship.
As part of the agreement, the BCB will have a banner outlining the sponsorship at all venues the team plays, three BCB Annual Awards would be renamed after the Cellink brand, the players would be outfitted in Cellink t-shirts for practice along with caps and while in the tournament, if there is no official uniform from the sponsor, the team would be provided with Cellink branded t-shirts.
Widespread media coverage, the right to use official team images, banner on permanent display within the BCB’s office, widespread coverage in the BCB’s magazine and a major charity programme by each of the teams are also part of the sponsorship deal.
The PRO said the BCB is very pleased at obtaining the sponsorship and more pleased to be associated with GT&T Cellink while stating that Berbice has been dominating cricket over the past two years, which is a known fact, hence the merger between the BCB and GT&T is nothing more than the coming together of two champions.
Foster further stated that one third of the sponsorship funds ($300,000) would be used to provide cricket balls to the clubs that are associated with the BCB, while the other $200,000 from the first payment of $500,000 would be used towards preparing the Berbice senior team for the upcoming senior GCB Inter-county tournament.
According to Robertson, when GT&T looked at the way the BCB approached them for sponsorship, they not only saw a commercial value but an opportunity for the company to partner with an establishment to provide service in more ways than one.
“The way the BCB outlined the plans for this sponsorship, we at GT&T saw an opportunity to not only partner with an establishment, but to provide services not only to a sport but a community and that holistic approach is one GT&T is pleased to be associated with today.
We are also pleased to be associated with the youths of Berbice especially the younger ones who stand to benefit more from this sponsorship and while there are some measures of returns one would look for when creating a partnership such as this one, the opportunity to tangibly support the Berbice community at large is what makes GT&T happier to be associated with the BCB.”
Robertson said the BCB was the only cricket board to approach his company with an aim to help the communities they serve as well as the young cricketers and he wasted no time in reaffirming GT&T’s commitment to the BCB in the years ahead while wishing them all the best in their future endeavors.
In his capacity as Deputy General Manager  of GT&T’s Public Relations department, PRO of the GCB Terence Holder said the step taken by the BCB was another attempt to further develop cricket in the communities and county at large, while mentioning that GT&T was privilege to be associated with the BCB.
While outlining the present phase both Guyana and West Indies cricket are going through, Holder said the onus is on everyone to work out the necessary steps wherein they will know where they want to take the game.
While stating that the BCB was the best run board in Guyana, head of the GCB Chetram Singh offered his profound congratulations to the Ancient County and assured GT&T that they will receive $5m returns for their $1m sponsorship investment from the BCB.
President of both the Demerara and East Coast Cricket Boards respectively and chairman of the GCB’s Cricket Development Committee Bissoondyal Singh also congratulated the BCB on their historic achievement.