– Says BCB doing good job amidst pandemic
By Clifton Ross
Ex-Guyana all-rounder, Andre Percival, has hailed the efforts of Minister of Sports, Charles Ramson Jr., following his visit to the Ancient County recently, as plans to restore and improve high standards of Berbice cricket are well on the way.
Recognized as arguably the best West Indies Under-19 skipper in his day, the hard-hitting batsman told Chronicle Sport on Monday that with the progress he has been seeing from both the government of Guyana and the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB); this could possibly be the relationship which will immensely improve cricket from an infrastructural standpoint and all-round support of the Ancient County players.
“So far, the talks which the government had is very good for Berbice cricket, so we just have to wait and see how things go because, in the past, so many persons came and told us that they were going to do this and that, but nothing never happened. I just want them to keep it up and maintain what they are saying so we can get things running nicely again. Other than that, it’s great for cricket and once we maintain the protocol with Covid-19 now, things should move well”. Said the former national women’s coach
Berbice has been no stranger to battling the odds and defying the natural state of things and keeping their track-record clean even during a pandemic, by slowly opening up the gates with practice sessions and coaching clinics; Percival hailed his former county board for continuing the progress in these trying times.
“Mr. Foster (Hilbert) and the BCB has been doing a very good job because I think that a lot of our youngsters were cricket starved due to the pandemic. But I think now once we follow the guidelines as I said before, things should be okay for us, as we look to restart live action slowly in Berbice”. Percival pointed out.
Another huge plus, according to the ex-medium-pacer, of the potential positives shown by the government, namely Minister Ramson, was the passing of the Guyana Cricket Administration Act (GCAA).
The bill now ensures that both the Guyana and Demerara Cricket Boards will now have to prepare for elections, thus possibly opening a new chapter in Guyana’s cricket administration hierarchy.
Regarding elections, Percival said he was all for it and was in full support of the Act and all that follows. “Another good thing is that the Minister mentioned stuff about the elections and that’s going to be very good for Guyana’s cricket. I think we will have free and fair elections when the time comes and we are heading in the right direction”, added Percival.
Wrapping up his interview, the Berbice veteran player turned coach, lauded Cricket Guyana Inc. (CGI) for investing in the future of all cricketers by virtue of their Jaguars Academy, which he said has been crucial to the sustenance of Guyana and West Indies cricket over the recent years.
Percival also hailed CGI’s new multi-purpose facility at La Bonne Intention (LBI)as a major boost for the national players and those with aspirations of one day representing Guyana or the West Indies.
“I think what they (CGI) are doing is good for cricket because we need more facilities in Guyana and we need more improved facilities. This will make the players feel much more comfortable around their new environment. At the end of the day, I just want the cricketers to be happy about what they’re going about doing and then I think we will get even better performances going forward”, He ended.
