AFTER 122 years of existence, the Malteenoes Sports Club continues to live up to its motto ‘Our Youth our Future’ by launching its two-week Cricket Academy from tomorrow to July 27.
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Charles Ramson, will give the opening speech for the second consecutive year as the Thomas Road club prepares to accommodate 120 participants this year between the ages of 7-18.

Topics will include teaching young Boys and Girls the basic skills, the Laws of Cricket, etiquette, physical sessions and pitch practice.
In July/August 1993, under the presidency of GCB’s executive Claude Raphael, MSC held the first National Cricket Academy for youths from all three of the Counties in Guyana with the ‘out of Town’ players being provided live-in accommodation at the club.

“The registration fee is $12,000 and for those who are members $8000 while those children who wish to continue and become members would pay monthly dues from Jan 1, 2025” informed MSC’s President Deborah Mc Nichol, the only female President of a club that plays first-division cricket in the Caribbean.
“Some parents asked for their children to be present for afternoon sessions because of other commitments and we will accommodate them

We are asking parents to continue supporting the academy and help their children to achieve their potential in the sport of their choice” continued Mc Nichol.
First vice-president of MSC and former National cricketer, Steven Jacobs, confirmed that there is limited space available but confirmed that participants can register during the week because some children are in other classes and can still join.

Jacobs, a former West Indies under-19 Captain, also informed that the club will be honouring past MSC presidents Neil Barry and Winston Semple.
Jacobs, former National player Lennox Cush, Guyana’s most successful First-Class Captain and former West Indies batter, Leon Johnson, Demerara U-17 Coach Quesen Nedd and Rawl Merell are among the coaches for this year’s Academy.
The Thomas Road entity produced eight West Indies International players between 1930 and 2003, including West Indies Women’s player Indomattie Goordial, the last female player to play Test Cricket in 2006.

While there are no players presently in the Guyana First-Class team, Tilleya Madramootoo, the Barkoye sisters, Joshua Bollers, Julian Craig and Anthony Lim are National youth players from MSC.
In 1987 when Guyana played in the Regional U-19 tournament in Jamaica, Barrington Browne, Colwin Cort,
Nigel Greaves, Glen Robinson, the late Nezam Hafiz, Sean Devers and Shawn Holder were the seven MSC players in the Guyana Squad. No other club has more players in a single tournament.
Cuthbert Monchoir, the Manager of the 1986 MSC U-19 team which won every National youth tournament that year, became the first Malteenoes member to do radio commentary on a First-Class match and write on cricket for the newspapers in the 1980s.

Devers followed in his footsteps becoming a sports Journalist and radio cricket commentator and did the first of his 13 Test Matches at Bourda for CMC in 2001.
After a break in organising Academies, Malteenoes held a scaled-down Academy in 2016 but due to the unavailability of coaches because of the CPL, no Academy was held in 2017.
The Academy resumed in 2018 when Brandon Corlette who plays cricket at the club level in Berbice and is presently a cricket journalist won the best student award.
It was again held in 2019 before missing 2000 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Academy was successfully held in 2022 and last year when Sports Minister Ramson launched the Academy with an inspiring opening speech.