“EYE A POSITION that you wish to fill in the Guyana national team within the next year or two and work towards achieving it. You need to be ambitious.”
Those were words used by former Guyana and West Indies skipper Clive Lloyd, during his feature remarks at the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) farewell reception for its youth players who were selected to represent Guyana at the Under-15, 17 and 19 levels this year.The reception was held in the upper pavilion of the club and saw present the club’s president Alfred Mentore, Secretary Seon Greaves, Assistant Secretary/Treasurer Ullanda Wiltshire, Coach Garvin Nedd, former Test player Travis Dowlin, parents and special invitees.
Prior to giving his charge, the 69 year old Lloyd who played 110 Test matches for the West Indies and led them for 11 years (1974 to 1985) during which time he had a run of 27 successive Test matches without a defeat, give the honorees a brief history of the Queenstown based DCC.
“The first West Indies Test captain, M.P Fernandes, came out of DCC and we have a street in Queenstown-Crown Street- which I think can be the only street in the world that has produced three Test players.”
He added, “As a young player here at DCC, we were all enthusiastic about playing for this club as it had a very rich tradition with such players in the caliber of Lance Gibbs, Roy Fredericks, Roger Harper and myself, just to name a few and we never had a coach, as your are privilege to have now.
While you are making trips at such a young age, that was something that was never afforded to me until I played for Guyana, while making the West Indies team was a memorable moment for me and it should be an ambitious thing for you too.”
In giving some of his best personal advice to national Under-17 skipper Travis Persaud, Lloyd told the talented all-rounder, “You must give and show respect to your teammates and they will do the same to you and you can even get them to go through wars with you.”
As it relates to the players themselves, Lloyd, who in 1971 was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year and also goes by the call name ‘Supercat’ for his athleticism in the field during his playing days, asked them to be more knowledgeable of the game.
“As players, you must learn to know and read the game and also point out deficiencies to your captain, as it relates to certain players whom you would have played against, while at the same time work on the negative side of your own game hard.
When I look at the game being played today in comparison to other sports, and even at this gesture that is being done here today, you have everything being given to you so all you have to do is get your mind right, apply yourself and play the game” said Lloyd.
“I want to see you win with dignity. Go out there, work hard and whatever you do, do it professionally, applying yourself to the tasks ahead positively. Be professional in everything you do, remembering that fitness is important.
You are representing a club that is full of tradition. It is over 100 years old and amongst one of the oldest clubs in the world, with the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) being the oldest club in the world, so you know of the rich history and talent that walked out these doors and now you are doing the same, do so with pride and dignity” charged Lloyd.
Prior to Lloyd giving his remarks, Mentore reminded those present that yesterday’s function was just a tradition that is customary with the club over its years of existence, adding that in his playing days and even in the days of Dowlin, it was customary.
Mentore said his club has managed to surpass last year’s target with the number of players -13 in total- who will be departing these shores to represent Guyana at the Under-15, 17 and 19 levels, a strong testament of Nedd’s work.
“The numbers that are evident this year in comparison to last year shows good signs and also underlines the efforts of the Club’s hard working coach, who has been putting in a lot of time and effort.
It also shows that DCC is not short of producing players at all levels for Guyana’s national team, since we also have Christopher Barnwell, Trevon Griffith and Paul Wintz representing Guyana at the senior level, while Barnwell is still striving to cement a place in the West Indies team.”
Words of encouragement also flowed from the lips of Dowlin, Wiltshire, Greaves and Club Captain Jamal Hinckson, while Persaud on behalf of his teammates and awardees, moved the vote of thanks.
Meanwhile, the following business, with their items in brackets, made yesterday’s event a successful one- P&P Insurance (1 bat), Travis Dowlin (Financial donation), Truck Masters (1 pair of bowling boots), Dependable Spares (1 pair of gloves), Caribbean Clothing (I pair of boots), Lifetime Real Estate (2 pairs of boots), Hits and Jams Entertainment (1 pair of boots) and Michael Van Sluytman (financial donation).
The awardees were- Under-15- Ashmead Nedd, Sagar Hetheramani, Alphius Bookie and Bhojnarine Singh, Under-17-Shurfane Rutherford, Travis Persaud, Renaldo Renee, Raymond Perez, Kemo Paul and Timothy McAlmont and Under-19: Kemol Savory and Brian Sattaur.
With the exception of Paul and Sattaur who were engaged otherwise and given a leave of absence, all of the other awardees were present, while Garvin Nedd expressed thanks to the president and executives of DCC for the support given to him, enabling him to produce the talent that was seen yesterday amongst others.
Written By Calvin Roberts