BACK in 2008, when Paul ‘DJ Stress’ Bonar approached Vicram Seubarran to sponsor a team for his then annual ‘DJ Stress T20 Festival’, readily the ardent cricket fan and enthusiast said yes, throwing his full and unflinching support into the Universal DVD Club Berbice Titans.

Six years later, Seubarran is the proud president of a re-energised Port Mourant Cricket Club (PMCC) and, come this Sunday at the Cheddi Jagan Street, New Amsterdam-based office of the Berbice Cricket Board, Seubarran will be throwing his hat into the race for the presidency of that entity, competing against present vice-president Anil Beharry.
One of his main concerns and reasons for doing so is to bridge the gap between the BCB and its parent body the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB), who over the past five years or so has had strained relations.
“Cricket needs to be played on the fields and not in the courtrooms as was evident during a period of time, wherein the BCB was the one suffering, which the clubs and their players were feeling the strain, because of personal vendetta between mature persons.
“My aim is to ensure the BCB and the GCB enjoy a great working relationship and once I am elected to the presidency of the BCB, I will be looking to create a harmonious working relationship between the GCB, the BCB and the clubs affiliated to the BCB,” said Seubarran.
He added, “Everyone knows I am all for cricket and certain mediocre excuses that were once given by cricket officials in the past would not be tolerated by me. Our mandate as stipulated by the Constitution of the BCB is to provide competitions for the clubs and their players on the field and that is my aim (intention)..
Humanitarian work is not a problem, as everybody needs help sometime, but as a cricket board, the playing of cricket on the field, upgrading of your coaches and umpires and ensuring you produce national players at all levels should always be your number one priority and certainly you will be seeing that from me as the new president of the BCB.”
He reminisced on the massive support shown to the females during their exhibition matchup at the Albion Community Centre ground last Sunday, prior to the playing of the third place and final in his Company’s anniversary celebrations and felt touched.
“The response shown first by the players – and I must thank the two key figures in Tremayne Smartt and Shemaine Campbelle for the work they did – was heartening,” said Seubarran.
“These two players rallied over 26 young ladies, some of whom never played cricket before and they had a wonderful time on the field, sharing camaraderie amongst themselves and the talent shown by some players should not be put to waste.
“Having said that, it is my intention to ensure female cricketers enjoy their fair share of attention like their male counterparts, while the youths from Under-15 to Under-19 will not be left out, with some senior players being asked to impart their knowledge to the younger ones on weekends.”
Quizzed on how he would be achieving all his programmes, Seubarran said, “Some business personnel were already approached with my ideas, and while some of them have said they have lost faith in the present executives of the BCB, I give them all assurances that whatever is said by me will be done by me with transparency and accountability being my watchwords at all times.
For example, my first act as president of the BCB would be to organise a special commemoration ladies match with the aim of keeping the females active, while the senior players can expect a three-day competition which will commence on Fridays and end on Sundays, with batting and bowling points up for grabs along with the usual points for a win.”
According to Seubarran, cricket in Berbice must go back to the days of yore, when players complained of having too much to play, as he is looking to take heed from the words of Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) president K. Juman-Yassin.
At the last GCB awards ceremony held last week Thursday, Juman-Yassin in his keynote address charged cricket officials to ‘Put cricket first’ and that is what Seubarran has in mind, putting the gentleman’s game of cricket on the front burner, with the players’ interest at heart.
Will Seubarran be given the opportunity to do so, only time and the electorate of the Berbice Cricket Board can tell, when they go to the polls on Sunday to elect their new line of office-bearers.

(By Calvin Roberts)