THE annual Scotiabank Academy, organised by the Berbice Cricket Board, has come to a close after a successful one-week camp at the Rose Hall Town ground on the Corentyne.

Participating in what was deemed the most successful in the six-year history of this collaboration between Scotiabank and the Berbice Cricket Board were fifty young cricketers, representing the cream of Berbice young cricketers from the Under-13 to the Under-19 levels.
Coaches Michael Hyles, Winston Smith and Renwick Batson were in charge of the technical aspect of the academy while those attending also were lectured on a range of topics including: The History of Berbice Cricket by one-time BCB secretary Mortimer George, Laws of Cricket by Umpire D. Somwaru, Discipline and Communication, Social Skills, Physical and Mental Fitness.
At the simple closing ceremony held last Friday at the venue, president of the Berbice Cricket Board, Keith Foster, exhorted the young participants to put what they learnt into practice so that they can not only go on to represent West Indies at the highest level but to do so for a very long time.
He referred to Berbice’s most recent West Indies selectees Assad Fudadin and Veerasammy Permaul who started their career at a very early age.
Former Guyana coach Albert Smith urged the cricketers to understand the seriousness of representing Berbice in light of the rich history of Berbice cricket.
He went on to say that with cricket being more mental than physical, cricketers must learn to think on their feet. He pointed out that with the participants doing so well this year, he can see them putting what they learnt into practice which would carry them on for a long time.
He also took the opportunity to publicly thank Scotiabank for the support of Berbice cricket by sponsoring the academy. He said that the contributions were of immense value due to its rate in ensuring the longevity of Berbice cricket.
Competitions Committee Chairman of the Berbice Cricket Board, Carl Moore, reminded the cricketers that they were the best cricketers of their respective age groups and with the high level of coaching that they benefited from, he said he saw no reason for them not to be successful cricketers.
Moore said that he knew that after three months of rain, most cricketers were finding a hard time to get meaningful practice but he urged the young cricketers to go back and find somewhere in their respective areas, maybe a basketball court or a concrete strip instead of just laying back and waiting for a dry ground.
He asked them to read about what it took for top cricketers like Chanderpaul and Lara to reach where they reached and emulate them.
The following cricketers were presented with special prizes and trophies as judged by the coaches: Veeramootoo Senwansane – Most Committed Cricketer, Royden Phil – Best Bowler, Randy Wade – Best Batsman and General All-round Ability, Jason Anderson and Imran Azad – Special Awards, Denzil Sinclair – Most Hardworking Cricketer and Daniel Lewis – Cricketer-of-the-Academy.