GEORGETOWN, Guyana – Former West Indies and Guyana fast bowler and now Technical Development Officer (TDO) in Guyana, Reon King, has said that grassroots cricket in Guyana has benefited from an injection of over  G$12M (US$60 000) in the past year and a similar injection is expected in the coming year. This is part of the West Indies Cricket Board Digicel Grassroots Cricket Programme which is being run countrywide in Guyana and which has reinvigorated youth cricket all across the Caribbean.
“The programme is sponsored by Digicel, they are the sponsors of West Indies cricket but they have channelled monies to the growth and development of the sport not only in Guyana but across the Caribbean as the Grassroots Programme is happening right across the Caribbean,” King explained while speaking on the NCN Sports Magazine television programme in Guyana on Wednesday night.
The 36-year-old former pacer also revealed that the programme has been attracting a significant number of girls who, in many instances, were competing equally with the boys.
“This programme is locked in the first half of the year to the Under-15 category which leads to the WICB Under-15 Tournament and the second half of the year is for the Under-17 youngsters which would lead up to the WICB Under-17,” King outlined.
“The programme is geared towards providing cricket at the introductory level to young persons and it is fully supplemented – travel, refreshments, gear,” explained King who featured in 19 Tests and 50 One Day Internationals for the West Indies from 1999 to 2005.
King, the TDO attached to the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB), said that the GCB has targeted areas where the residents are starved for cricket, to implement the programme, and it has been a success throughout the coastland of Guyana.
“Some clusters swell to as many as 45 kids and on an average each cluster has 30 kids. It runs for a minimum for 12 weeks but can go up to 15 weeks,” King highlighted.
“Each cluster is staffed by two coaches, a Level 2 coach is the head coach and a Level 1 coach as the assistant coach,” King further pointed out to NCN Sports Magazine host and popular cricket commentator Edwin Seeraj.