– Female cricket needs direct input from Associations

By Sean Devers
PRESIDENT of the Georgetown Cricket Association (GCB) Neil Barry believes focusing on schools is important for the revival of cricket in Guyana
The former Demerara and Guyana batter shared his thoughts on this as well as what is being done to attract more females to the sport.

“I have been actively involved in getting cricket back in schools in Georgetown
The Ministry of Education has partnered with the GCA and given us permission to do coaching for primary school and that’s where we at the GCA believes the foundation is set…where you simulate interest.

We would have exposed 200 females from 7-10 over an eight-week programme which culminated at the Queen’s College. So we are confident…and the interest shown by the females in those eight schools, it’s really eye-opening and all the coaches and all those involved were very happy with” said Barry while speaking on the ‘Sean Devers Sports Watch’ Radio programme.
“The problem in Georgetown is not that the young talented…both male and female… don’t want to play cricket; it is that they are not getting the opportunity to play.

So they then go to other things because enough emphasis is not placed on that early development. We in the GCA recognise that there is a GCA weakness which is the reason why we have gone all the way to the bottom to bring it up.

We are hoping now that in a next few years those 7 to 10 year olds within a certain span of time will be the ones representing Guyana and even the West Indies within another five to 10 years. We are confident about that” continued the GCA Head.

“The parents and teachers were there and loved the programme. They supported and encouraged the little boys and girls who had lots of fun.
“We did put a proposal for secondary schools but the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) has announced that they are going big into schools cricket, so the Ministry, I think, is waiting on word from the GCB with regards to that.

“But we are hoping that as a stakeholder for cricket development in Guyana and a member of the GCB through the Demerara Board, that we can get more information coming to us so that we can go in and help.

“It is critical at this juncture for all of the Stakeholders in the country to understand the importance of secondary school cricket and meet, sit and find the best way forward.
“It has to be a tri-party gathering between the cricket technocrats, the Ministry of Sports, Ministry of Education and obviously the GCB, sit together and have a nation-wide programme mapped out.

The youngsters in the schools want it and it’s now up to the administrators to deliver a programme” Barry added.
“We would have launched a female programme for youths between 12 -21 in Georgetown last year sponsored by Smalta Breweries Guy Inc and have so far registered 30 female cricketers.
“The adverse weather played a major part in us not getting the amount of training sessions that we needed. This programme was under the guidance of Clyde Butts and managed by Malteenoes president, Deborah McNichols.

“There are three other coaches that work along within that programme but the issue would have been getting the weather to be favourable and getting venues.
“We have worked very [hard] and we must thank MYO and Queens College for making their grounds available for the young ladies. What is clear is that female cricket needs to have a more direct input from associations…not only Georgetown… but all the associations throughout the Country” said the DCB member.

Barry said that clubs cannot do it on their own and that’s why the GCA embarked on this programme and, in 2023, will move it forward and get a fixed venue for the squad.
“We will get more games and get more engagement against teams in Berbice and other parts of the country. But we are ready and the female programme is defiantly ongoing” Barry concluded.