… Berbice cricket on the rise again

(Letter to the Sports Editor)

FOR the first time in close to five years, cricket clubs and cricketers in the county of Berbice are smiling. Just two months ago, Berbicians were complaining about the slow death of the game; but since the elections on the February 18, 2018 and Hilbert Foster and his executives, there has been a welcoming relief to everyone.
The talk of the county is that Berbice cricket has risen and is back from the brink and that cricket would be played as never before.

In a little over a month since the Court ordered elections, clubs are busy getting themselves in order to play the game. Young cricketers are turning out to practise with the knowledge that cricket tournaments would be played and new cricket clubs are being formed in villages that had abandoned the game due to frustration.

Over the last few years, very few cricket tournaments were held at the Inter-club level and the two that were played were poorly organised, with no proper fixtures, no rules and to make matters worse the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) was unable to attract any sponsor.
What a difference! A month only and the (BCB is now preparing to host Inter-club tournaments at the Under-15, Under-17, Under-19, Under-21, Female Second Division 20/20 and 40-Overs, Intermediate and First Division levels.

Each of these tournaments has been sponsored while the Board has also announced sponsorship for a Berbice-wide coaching programme.

Additionally, funding has also been secured for cricket tournaments in the Upper Corentyne and Berbice River sub-zones. Sponsorship for schools cricket has also been secured.
The BCB has also honoured the winning Berbice Under-15 team and went out of its way to make sure that Shimron Hetmyer, Veerasammy Permaul, Anthony Bramble and Romario Shepherd felt like heroes for making Berbice proud.

I am very confident that by the middle of 2018, Berbice Cricket would once again be the envy of the Caribbean and that every Berbician would be proud to be associated with it.
One of the most striking features of the new Board is its willingness to listen to clubs by organising face-the-public meetings and hosting calls on television programmes.

The new president has promised to administer Berbice cricket in a fair, transparent and accountable way. Instructions have been given to the treasurer to make the financial records of the BCB available to clubs. I would like to urge all Guyanese especially Berbicians to support this Board.

Corporate Guyana has already shown their support with finances/cash and it is now up to us to reject the efforts of a disgruntled few to stop the train of progress.
Berbice cricket belongs to all of us and we must not allow a few to use it as their personal property with the sole objective of allowing their allies to remain in power.

The truth is that they couldn’t find funds to arrange Inter-club tournaments, developmental programmes or honour our heroes but found finances to hire highly-paid lawyers and to rent a Five Star Hotel to host an election.

Berbice cricket got so low, that the BCB in 2017 was asking cricket clubs to host Inter-zone matches, trial games and begging clubs for trophies, cricket balls and meals among other things.

Never in the history of Berbice cricket had things gotten so low while there are no records of any major achievement (not one).

I had the privilege of working with most of the newly elected executives and I have full confidence that they would lead by example while taking Berbice cricket to the highest summit where it belongs.

For the sake of this and future generation of youths, let us grasp this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of unmatched progress and development.

Former BCB executive member