SCOTIABANK Kiddy Cricket made a spectacular return to the field of play with a stunning display of talent and skills by the enthusiastic children of Guyana on Sunday.

More than 100 boys and girls from across the country participated in the lunchtime Scotiabank Kiddy Cricket interval display accompanied by ‘Chirpy’ – the larger-than-life, fun-loving mascot, at the Guyana National Stadium as West Indies and Bangladesh competed in the first One-Day International game.

Anand Sanasie, secretary of the Guyana Cricket Board and a director of Cricket West Indies, commented during the interval display.

“The Kiddy Cricket program is probably the longest sporting partnership between two entities in the region, with the Cricket West Indies partnering with Scotiabank for the last 18 years. The program engages approximately 135,000 children across the region in 17 countries.

“In Guyana, we engage 210 primary schools, so we are in contact with 27,000 children who are actively engaged in the game of cricket. Through the programme, these children have access to 24 qualified foundation and level one coaches who teach them the fundamentals of batting, bowling, fielding and wicket-keeping,” Sanasie said.

Scotiabank and Cricket West Indies distribute cricket gears and equipment annually so that the skills of cricket can be taught across participating schools in Guyana.

Sanasie mentioned that the program has recently introduced an academic cricket manual for the classroom setting, that will be disturbed to schools across Guyana in partnership with the Ministry of Education, that will introduce the Mathematics, English, Social Studies, Science, HFLE and other core primary subjects in a relatable and fun cricket context.

Scotiabank Manager, Public and Corporate Affairs, Caribbean South and East, Cindy Mohammed stated, “Scotiabank is committed to helping our young people become better off and we’re proud that the Scotiabank Kiddy Cricket Programme enables us to achieve this”.

 As Guyana, St. Lucia and Antigua host the first stand-alone ICC Women’s World Twenty20 in November, Cricket West Indies and Scotiabank will be putting special arrangements in place to give the female cricketers in the Kiddy Cricket programme the opportunity to watch the matches and participate in activities surrounding this grand world event across the three host venues.