By – Elroy Stephney
THE Essequibo Cricket Board in collaboration with the Region 2 Administration last Tuesday evening held a lavish and impressive awards ceremony to honour the Essequibo Senior cricket team in recognition of their outstanding display that resulted in them being crowned GCB Franchise League three- day champions–2017.

It was the first time in the history of Essequibo’s cricket that the senior team has won a national title. The awards ceremony took place on the lawns of the Regional State House and was attended by the Regional Chairman, Devanand Ramdatt; Regional Executive Officer, Rupert Hopkinson; Deputy Regional Executive Officer, Roop Kumar Persaud; Assistant Regional Executive Officer, Yvette-Hastings-Tafares; Prime Minister’s Representative, Karran Chand; Acting President of the GCB and president of the ECB, Fizul Bacchus; former president of the ECB, Vibert Johnson; National Under-19 manager, Andy Ramnarine; and RDC Councillors, among other distinguished guests.

The well coordinated ceremony began with the introduction of the players by ECB official, Nazeer Mohamed, who also chaired the evening’s proceedings. Winning captain Anthony Adams led the procession as each player was recognised and received loud rounds of applause as they orderly made their way on to the lawns of the decorated surroundings.
The large gathering of guests, well-wishers, friends and relatives of the players were then briefly addressed by the DREO, REO, Regional Chairman, acting president of the GCB, in that order.

During their presentation, both the REO and the Regional Chairman praised the mercurial and collective efforts of the players while underscoring the hard work and commitment that they had endured to achieve success.
They also said that the entire Essequibo region is proud of their achievement and has vowed the Administration’s continued support towards the Essequibo Cricket Board and other stakeholders in realising the full potential of the Region’s cricketers.

The Regional Chairman also mentioned that the ECB must reach out to untapped talent in the Regions of 1, 3, 7 and 9, which are also considered as being under the jurisdiction of the ECB.

He was also high in praise of the Captain Anthony Adams and made a public appeal for him to be given a house lot in recognition of his leadership and success; a gesture that was also sanctioned by the REO. During his address, the GCB President expressed delight at the performance of the team despite the many challenges, including the lack of sponsorship in the Region.

He expressed his Board’s appreciation to the many supporters, including the Private Sector that played a pivotal role in ensuring that the team was given the necessary resources throughout their sojourn in winning the title.

Special mention was also given to Samad Baksh of Imam Bacchus Group of Companies, whose facility including the impressive cricket ground which was made available to the ECB at no cost, and for the company’s continuing commitment towards cricket development in Essequibo. Following the speeches, presentation of awards, including plaques, were given to each player with their names engraved.

Additionally, trophies were presented to the best batsman, Ricardo Adams,;Best Bowler and fielder Anthony Adams; and best wicket-keeper, Kemol Savory.
Meanwhile, the team also included the legendary and former West Indies Captain, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and West Indies Under- 19 vice -captain Keemo Paul; both of whom however were unavoidably absent.

A special token was also presented to the coach, Ryan Hercules. The ceremony concluded with the Vote of Thanks, done by the ECB Secretary, Auto Christiani, after which dinner was served.

There was much pomp and fanfare well into the evening as the players, fans and family members interacted and enjoyed quite a memorable and historic occasion as a fitting tribute to Essequibo cricket heroes.

Incidentally, it was also the birth night of former national Under- 19 and Canada Senior player, Dellon Heyliger, who was also present and shared the momentous occasion.