Harper and Mentore shower praise on Nedd

FOLLOWING Demerara Cricket Club’s (DCC) Under-19 ‘B’ team’s five-wicket victory over their ‘A’ team counterparts which handed them the Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA)/David Persaud Investments Limited championship trophy, both presidents of the GCA and DCC respectively, Roger Harper and Alfred Mentore, showered praise on the club’s coach Gavin Nedd.

altAt the time of his comments, Harper who in his own rights is a former DCC, Guyana and West Indies all-rounder, was addressing his audience at the presentation ceremony, following an exciting final at the Everest Cricket Club ground on Sunday.
“The fact that DCC had two teams contesting the final here today is a strong testimony to the work being put in by their coach Gavin Nedd, who one week ago, coached their Under-15 team to a successful defence of their title.”
Harper also expressed his gratitude to the sponsors for partnering with the GCA, adding that he was looking forward to a long and fruitful relationship. He also thanked the management of Everest Cricket Club for providing a wonderful venue which had a lightning fast outfield.
While Harper was brief in expressing his gratitude to Nedd, the softspoken Mentore who has been at the helm of the Queenstown-based DCC for the past four years, said the results his club is presently enjoying are not an overnight thing.
“The results persons are reading about when it relates to the DCC youth teams, are not an overnight thing. We have invested in our youths from the Under-13 and Under-15 level, where most of these guys would have been playing together over the past few years and we are just reaping the rewards of that investment,” stated Mentore.
He added, “I am pleased with the works, efforts and commitment shown to these guys by Nedd. He was away with the Guyana Under-15 and U-17 teams, which prevented us from hosting our annual two-month summer camp.
“At the same time, he was not around during the early stages of this competition, but the guys stood together and made it to the semifinals, at which time he was back and in control of things, while the kind of effort he has been putting in, is being shown in the results we are experiencing at the moment.”
Like many other cricket enthusiasts who witnessed last Sunday’s action, Mentore posited the bright future his club has at the youth level, especially with the soon-to-be-done regularisation of cricket in the Land of Many Waters.
“With the regularisation of cricket in Demerara and Guyana, it’s a hope that DCC cricketers will be able to play against bigger teams. On a wider scope, playing against other teams across the length and breadth of Guyana will give us a chance to test our ability to prove whether or not we are truly national champions at this level.
“We have always been doing developmental stuff. This year, we were unable to host our annual summer camp, as we were hosting the Atlantis Cricket Club from the United States of America and another overseas team, to herald in our Centenary Anniversary, along with other activities.
“However, we will be doing so next year as that in itself enabled us to identify specific talent for the club and at the same time enable us to motivate our players; and having said that, I wish to say once again, thanks from the depths of my heart to Nedd,” stated Mentore.
The results from Sunday’s match showed DCC ‘A’ who won the toss and opted to bat first in sweltering heat on a straw coloured Camp Road track, recovering from 23 for 4 in the 11th over to reach 223 for 9 at the end of their 50 overs, thanks to Andrew Gibson’s unbeaten 112.
However, skipper Kemal Savory and his opening partner Renaldo Renee added 107 for the first wicket, with Savory top-scoring with 69 and Renee contributing 37, while Kemo Paul, who was later named man-of-the-match, chipped in with a robust unbeaten 45 that piloted DCC ‘B’ to 225 for 5 from 44.2 overs.

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