FRESH from the successful staging of the seventh edition of the Prime Minister’s T20 softball tournament, the Georgetown Softball Cricket League (GSCL) Inc will end the 2023 season in grand style with the staging of a three-day softball extravaganza in honour of Vice-president Dr Bharrat Jagdeo.
According to GSCL president, Ian John, the tournament, which was originally slated to be held on the weekend of November 3, 4 and 5, has been rescheduled to November 17, 18 and 19 and will see participation from most of the top softball teams throughout Guyana at several venues in Demerara.
Further details on the attractive cash prizes and other incentives are being worked out and will be disclosed shortly.
John pointed out that softball cricket has always been part of the Guyanese culture and the GSCL Inc is determined to keep the grassroot sport alive.
The GSCL president disclosed that as an organisation, the GSCL’s vision is not only about the promotion and playing of softball cricket, the GSCL, through one of its main sponsors, Regal Stationery and Computer Centre, has been providing charitable donations to entities and individuals in need throughout the length and breadth of Guyana.
“We are also endeavouring to achieve the goal of encouraging and fostering a sense of community among all cricket enthusiasts, hence the staging of the annual Prime Minister’s T20 tournament, which saw the participation of women’s teams the last two years. We also anticipate that the Vice-President T20 tournament will follow suit,” John asserted.
Meanwhile, John has expressed delight over the successful staging of the Prime Minister’s tournament which culminated under lights at the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) ground on Sunday, October 1.
Normally staged in October/November since its inception, the tournament was brought forward this year to lure those overseas players attending the Caribbean Premiere League (CPL) last leg to stay on and, according to John, the “experiment’” paid great dividends.
Despite a few minor hiccups, John deemed the tournament highly successful and was loud in praise for the several sponsors who came on board and the media for the excellent coverage.
“On behalf of the GSCL Inc, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the sponsors for their generous contribution to the staging of the tournament and also to the Office of the Prime Minister and Department of Youth and Sports for their contribution, John pointed out.
A significant plus in their year’s tournament was a one hundred per cent increase in the number of women’s teams which rose from four to eight from last year. 4 R Lions, which carted off last year’s inaugural competition, came out tops once again, playing unbeaten in the knockout tournament which saw matches being played at the DCC and Lusignan Sports Club grounds.
The Lionesses made light work of Highway Challengers after disposing of the highly touted Police team in the first round and Essequibo in the semi-finals. Two teams from Berbice – Number 69 and Crabwood Creek also participated, both failing to get past the first round.
On a bright note, as far as the women’s category is concerned, John said he’s confident that more women teams will be attracted to future tournament and there’s every chance they will also feature in the upcoming tournament.
The All Stars Open category saw Knight Riders Ariel All Stars reigning supreme for the third consecutive year while Regal Masters and Regal Legends retained supremacy in the Masters Over-40 and Legends Over-50 categories respectively. (Frederick Halley)
