Calls on GCB to intervene

DESPITE having several impressive performances for their Under-17 side in the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB)/Memorex Under-17 Inter-club competition, Port Mourant Cricket Club’s (PMCC) Vivekanand Jagjit and his skipper Daniel Samaroo, still found it hard to break into the Ancient County Under-17 Inter-county team.

For this, PMCC’s president Vicram Seubarran, who is an ardent cricket fan and enthusiast, is crying foul at the mediocre treatment being meted out to the duo, who, he felt, should have been in the squad, since their returns for the club in the aforementioned tournament have been impressive.
“What is the purpose of the BCB hosting the Memorex Under-17 tournament from which they select the players who performed creditably to compete in the Inter-zone tournament and they are not being selected?” asked Seubarran.
He added, “All match reports were submitted to the BCB in a timely manner, from which they could have seen that both Jagjit and Samaroo had consistent performances for Port Mourant, thus guaranteeing them a place in the final 11 for the Inter-zone matches.
“To my mind, this whole selection process that is being used to select the Under-17 team is a fraud, because while some may say playing in the Inter-zone is the criterion for selection, the BCB selectors picked the team from one match and there are some players who did not perform creditably in that match, but were selected.”
Seubarran, who is the sole sponsor of Guyana’s T20 champions the Universal DVD Titans, cited as an example the preferred leg-spinner chosen by the BCB Junior Selection Committee, ahead of Jagjit, who is head and shoulders above the preferred individual.
“Jagjit played all the matches for us and performed well with the ball and bat. In fact, in four matches, he has taken 32 wickets including five five-wicket hauls and two 10-wicket hauls, with his best bowling per innings being 6 for 20 in the match where he took 11 for 46.
And when you look at his returns with the bat for the same period, he has scored a total of 103 runs with a topscore of 44 against Whim, in the same match for which he took a combined total of 3 for 33, with a best haul of 2 for 10.
So are they saying that such overall performances do not guarantee him a place in the 14-man squad for the Inter-county tournament even though he has not played in the Inter-zone? Then something is wrong with the procedure of selection,” argued Seubarran.
A disgruntled Seubarran said he is calling on the BCB’s parent body in the Guyana Cricket Board to intervene in the matter, since several players not only from PMCC< are being treated unfairly by the BCB’s Selection panel and this needs to stop.
In an invited comment with BCB Junior Chairman of Selectors Leslie Solomon, Chronicle Sport learnt that never before was a junior player selected for the Ancient County without playing in the Inter-zone tournament and he (Solomon) would not go against such precedence.
According to Solomon, both Jagjit and Samaroo scored a total of 204 with a highest score of 59 not out against Sand Reef. The latter backed up his 18 wickets with a best of 7 for 7 against Whim, in a match where he ended with 13 for 29. Both were selected in the Inter-zone team.
“Unfortunately for Samaroo, there was another off-spinner who played in the Inter-zone for another team and performed creditably, while in the case of Jagjit, he did not get a chance to play in the Inter-zone, while the other named leg-spinner did play,” said Solomon.
When told that a senior official within the BCB confirmed that the preferred leg-spinner who was chosen ahead of Jagjit does bowl well but not in comparison to Jagjit, Solomon said, “That same official would have eaten off my head and even go around the place condemning the selection of the team if his spinner was not selected.”
Amidst all the fuss and fight, Chronicle Sport learnt that even the BCB’s president was unaware of the selection or ratification of the team, when contacted by PMCC to intervene on the matter, prior to the Berbice Under-17 team leaving the Ancient County to compete in the GCB Under-17 tournament that is currently ongoing.

(By Calvin Roberts)