… Nagamootoo, Lamberts, Deonarine and Derick Kallicharran inducted into Berbice Hall of Fame

THE Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) last Friday celebrated its 80th Anniversary by hosting a gala ceremony at the Albion Community Centre Training Hall. The venue was full to capacity as BCB celebrated the Anniversary in grand style by honouring heroes, assisting young cricketers and clubs along with looking back at the rich legacy of Berbice cricket over the last eight decades.

The BCB hosted its Tribute to Heroes, Tribute to Retired Cricketers, honoured its two West Indies debutants, donated $300 000 worth of cricket gear to junior cricketers and inducted Berbice Heroes to its Cricket Hall of Fame and Cricket Administrators Hall of Fame.

Additionally, BCB unveiled its greatest cricketers at junior, female and senior levels, handed over prizes for three educational competitions and donated water coolers/cricket stumps to numerous clubs.

The highlight of the packed afternoon programmes was the induction of five outstandidng cricketers into the Berbice Cricket Hall of Fame. Those inducted were Clayton Lambert, Leslaine Lambert, Derick Kallicharran, Narsingh Deonarine and Mahendra Nagamootoo.

BCB president Hilbert Foster who chaired the programme informed the large gathering that the BCB Cricket Hall of Fame was founded in 2009 with the main aim of honouring outstanding Berbice cricketers. Those honoured to date include John Trim, Rohan Kanhai, Basil Butcher, Joseph Solomon, Roy Fredericks, Alvin Kallicharran, Milton Pydana, and Sew Shivnarine.

Berbice, he stated, was very proud of its heroes and stressed the importance of honouring them as this would motivate the younger generation to follow in their footsteps. The BCB every five years selected inducted players into the Hall of Fame after careful and comprehensive research.

Foster hailed the five awardees as perfect ambassadors, positive role models and outstanding cricketers who made Berbice a household name across the cricketing world.

Clayton Lambert, a member of the Bermine Cricket Club represented Guyana and the West Indies at the senior level while Leslaine Lambert represented Guyana and West Indies ‘B’ teams. Lambert, a proud product of the Albion Community Centre Cricket Club (ACCCC) career was cut short due to injury.

Derick Kallicharran of the historic Port Mourant Cricket Club, the younger brother of former West Indies captain Alvin Kallicharran and represented Guyana and West Indies as a leg-spinner and solid low-order batsman.

Foster told the attentive audience that if they were playing today, both Leslaine Lambert and Derick Kallicharran would have played Test cricket.

Narsingh Deonarine and Mahendra Nagamootoo both represented Berbice, Guyana and West Indies at the junior and senior levels and also captained their county and country.

Deonarine of the ACCCC was known as the batsman who hit the winning six in the historic Stanford 20/20 tournament while Port Mourant Nagamootoo held Guyana’s First Class bowling record for a long time.

Portraits of each of the players, along with their cricketing records, would be placed on the Dr Tulsi Dyal Singh Wall of Fame, located in the BCB office.

Sister of Derick Kallicharran, Mrs Nagamootoo and Ms Nathalie Nagamootoo, daughter of Mahendra Nagamootoo, unveiled the portraits of the five inductees to loud applause from the gathering.