The Rose Hall Town NAMILCO Thunderbolt flour first division and U21 teams on Friday last hosted the 2024 Basil Butcher memorial trust program.
The team, under the guidance of the management of the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club, has been hosting the memorial program in memory of the late Basil Butcher the former West Indies middle order batsman who died in December 2019 after long and profound illness.

RHTYSC secretary Hilbert Foster stated that the 1st edition was held in 2020 with the full blessing of Mr. Butcher’s wife Pamela and family.
Over the last four years the trust program has assisted dozens of youths across the ancient county with a wide variety of items including bicycles, electronic tablets, educational material, uniforms, household items, kitchen utensil, footwear, cricket gears and sports equipment.

Foster stated that the former West Indies batting maestro was very close to the club as its president Keith Foster was his eldest child.
Butcher personally sponsored the Basil Butcher cricket development program for many years and assisted many youth cricketers in Berbice with personal cricket gear including West Indies middle order batsman Shimron Hetmyer, Sean Perriera, Shemaine Campbell, Assad Fudadin and Clinton Pestano among others.

Butcher also assisted by offering his service as a mentor to members of the club and also supported other programs of the RHTYSC including annual award ceremony, Say yes/Say no campaign, Christmas Charity Program and the annual Cricket Academy.
Foster who is also the former president of the Berbice Cricket Board stated that the NAMILCO Thunderbolt Flour teams in 2024 would be shearing out 25 bicycles to youths and some institution like the mayor and town council of Rose Hall.
The teams would also be handing over cricket gear to promising club members,12 electronic tablets to outstanding students, food hampers to the less fortunate while hundreds of school bags with educational materials would be handed out to students preparing for secondary school.

The NAMILCO Thunderbolt flour first division team in September would also undertake a series of activities to mark the 54th anniversary of Rose Hall becoming a Township on the 20th of September 1990.
The activities would be held under the theme simply the best and would include a cross-country race, 10/10 cricket match, fitness walk, say no to drugs March, food hampers for 54 families, medical outreach, evening of music and educational competitions for school children such as essay and poster competition.

RHTYSC cricket manager Robby Kissoonlall hailed the hard work of the cricketers in obtaining necessary items and urge the youths who receive bicycles, cricket gears, school bags and electronic tablet to take proper care of them.
Basil Butcher a product of Port Mourant Cricket Club played 44 test matches for the West Indies scoring 3104 runs at an average of 43.11 with seven centuries and 16 half centuries.
He was named Wisden cricketer of the year in 1970 and later served as a selector.

Basil Butcher was inducted as a honourary member of the RHTYSC in 1996 and also received the club highest award, the Dolphin Award of Excellence.