Recognising Chetram Singh contributions

AS IS traditional for many persons at this time of the New Year, we tend to reflect on the pass year – lessons learned, opportunities exploited and challenges faced, etc. We at the Demerara Cricket Club are no different.
As an active stakeholder in the game and from our perspective 2010 can be characterised as a year of mixed results with an exigent future.
During the last 12 months Guyana won the regional T20 competition, was competitive in the Regional Under-15 tournament, we won places on the WI ‘A’ and senior teams and most importantly, four places on the WI women team who were successful in international competitions.
Conversely, we did not perform to expectations in the longer version of the game. Many reasons can be ascribed to those unsatisfactory performances which are relatively easy to do in a retrospection/ However, moving forward with lessons learnt while chartering a new course is where the challenge lies.
At the administration level many accusations were made, substantiated and unsubstantiated of corruption, incompetence and failed initiatives. These accusations combined with the dastardly act against a cricket official raised many concerns that threaten the foundation on which our cricket stands.
These challenges are not insurmountable. However, action-centred leadership, supported by a clearly articulated vision is needed to remedy this undesirable position in which we find ourselves.
We hope that all cricket administrators and players take stock of the previous year’s performance and use the spirit of optimism that accompanies the New Year to raise our individual levels and associations’ performances for the betterment of cricket in Guyana.
On a different note, we noticed that the current president of the Guyana Cricket Board, Mr Chetram Singh or ‘Chetty’ as he is known to many in the cricket fraternity, has un-availed himself for re-election, having served as president for the past 19 years.
He has served selflessly with distinction in this post and high marks should be awarded for his commitment and determination. Over this period his impact on the game cannot go unnoticed.
There were a number of successes under his stewardship resulting in a raised profile of Guyana cricket locally, regionally and internationally. Before assuming the leadership of GCB, Mr Singh served as president of DCC.
It was during this period that I, being a young player at the time, recognised his appreciation for the dynamics of cricket administration. Although, he never played cricket competitively, Mr Singh has a keen sense of the game.
His performance at the GCB dispelled the false notion that only former players can be effective administrators of the game. In fact, it could be argued that his lack of cricket playing experience was his strength, since he did not come with the bias that former players have.
For cricket administrators, objectivity, leadership and the ability to mobilise resources are more important than an outstanding cricketing resumé. Demerara Cricket Club, Guyana and West Indies cricket will be forever indebted to Mr Singh for his contribution to the game we all love. 
While DCC is renowned for producing players the likes of Clive Lloyd, Lance Gibbs, Roy Fredericks, Roger Harper and most recently Travis Dowlin, it is noteworthy to mention that we have made significant contributions to the administration of cricket in Guyana, evident by Mr Singh’s extraordinary performance and very soon DCC will be honouring Chetram Singh for his contributions.
We would also like to take this time to wish all the clubs, associations, players, administrators, sponsors much success and fulfilment in 2011.