BCB/Cricket Kindness/Bat for a Chance Project …

THE Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) is forging ahead with its cricket developmental programme by assisting several primary and secondary schools with cricket gear.

The donations were made over the last week under the BCB/Cricket Kindness and Bat for a Chance project.

Among the schools receiving gear were Line Path Secondary, Lower Corentyne Secondary, Vryman’s Erven Secondary, Fort Wellington Secondary, Rosignol Primary, No 8 Primary School, All Saints Primary, Cumberland Primary, Rose Hall Town Primary, Port Mourant Primary, No 71 Massiah Primary and Crabwood Creek Primary .

BCB president Hilbert Foster stated that the donations of the gear to the schools are part of a comprehensive programme to make sure that the county continues to produce players of the highest standard.

Foster stated that the board believes that schools are the nursery for producing Under-13 and Under-15 players for clubs.

The schools, he stated, were carefully selected as they are closely aligned to the game.

Berbice has since 1948 produced 19 Test players including the legendary John Trim, Rohan Kanhai, Basil Butcher, Alvin Kallicharran and Roy Fredericks.

The BCB’s main objective currently is to increase that amount while producing other players for the West Indies at the Under-15, Under-19, One Day International, 20/20 and female levels.

That county success continued last Wednesday when Demetri Cameron became the latest Berbician to gain selection to the national senior team.

Cameron is the latest of exciting players to come from the county while three female players are also current West Indies players.

Others like Romario Shepherd, Shimron Hetmyer, Veersammy Permaul, Gudakesh Motie, Anthony Bramble, Clinton Pestano, Kevin Sinclair, Kevlon Anderson, Junior Sinclair, Jonathan Foo, Nial Smith and Keon Joseph are all household names in Guyana.

The county has a lot of promising players including Rampertab Rampersaud, Isai Thorne, Jonathan Rampersaud, Kelvin Umroa, Zeynul Ramsammy, Trisha Hardatt, Adrian Hetmyer, Ashmini Munisar, Leon Cecil, Jeremy Sandia and Christopher Deroop.

Foster urged the administration of the schools to place emphasis on getting girls involved in the game and also stated that the board would provide coaches if requested under its Dr Tulsi Dyal Singh Training Programme.

The BCB is currently working on a project to assist each secondary school in the county with two boxes of balls and gear.

An overseas-based Berbician has reached out to Foster to assist in this regard while other areas in the programme would include the hosting of tournaments for schools.

Administrators at the different schools expressed gratitude to the BCB, Ms Tamara Lowe of Cricket Kindness and Wilf Gafney of Bat for a Chance.

The board would also like to express thanks to Minister Charles Ramson for the role he played in getting the gear duty-free into the country.