…runs until August 9 at Bourda

PRESIDENT of the Georgetown Cricket Club’s (GCC), Jonathan Yearwood, gave the feature address at Monday’s opening of GCC Summer camp which was first held in 1991.
This year’s camp is scheduled to conclude on August 9 at Bourda, the oldest cricket club in the Caribbean.
The club which hosted its first Test match in 1930 when West Indies beat England to record its first Test win, is catering for 90 participants this year, an increase of 30 students from last year.
Yearwood informed that Queensway Security Services Inc. is the premier sponsor of the Camp.

“They were on board last year and the owner, Mohamed Arafat Qualander, challenged GCC to increase the number of participants this year and if we did so he would provide a larger
sponsorship.
So, this year Queensway Security Services has increased its sponsorship” revealed Yearwood. “I want you to be disciplined, punctual and listen to what your coaches say. Your coaches are all qualified cricket coaches and this is first time GCC will have a female coach.
It is not only cricket skills that you will be taught. There will be lectures on discipline, game awareness, team building and the opportunity to interact with Junior National players who are also participants.
The camp will run from 09:00 hrs to 13:00hrs each day and caters for boys and girls between the ages of seven and seventeen. Five females were present yesterday.

Leon Johnson who is Guyana’s most successful First-Class Captain with six titles was also present yesterday and told the participants that at the age of 12 he was a part of a similar summer camp.
“I was right where you are when I was 12 years old and that camp inspired me to play cricket as a career. I made the Guyana senior team four years later. Orin Bailey was my coach
when I played for Guyana’s U-15 and U-17, Peter Persaud encouraged me and gave me cricket gear while Garvin Nedd was a coach with the Guyana senior team when I was captain. So… you are all in very good hands” informed the 36- year-old who played nine Tests and six ODIs.

Johnson who captained the West Indies in the 2006 U-19 World Cup is now a businessman after scoring seven centuries and 42 fifties from 127 First-Class games between 2004- 2013.
One of 18 players from GCC to play Test cricket, Jonhson promised the youngsters that despite his business commitments he would visit for an hour each day.
Due to the wet ground the enthusiastic youngsters had their first session on the GCC Tarmac.

GCC players Mavindra Dindyal, Thaddeus Lovell, Krsna Singh and Shahid Viera are in St Vincent with the national U-19 team which will play its final game today against the Windwards.
Alvin Kallicharran, Carl Hooper, Shiv Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan were West Indies captains who played for GCC.

Sponsors for the Camp are Queensway Security Services Inc, Sankar Auto Works, Sankar Auto Colours, Guyana Beverages Inc.