March 22, 2012 | By Kaieteur News
Cricket teams in the Berbice River areas which have been long neglected are breathing a sigh of relief since their constant pleas for tournaments have been finally answered.
This is mainly as a result of the efforts of Food for The Poor (Guy) Inc. which has teamed up with Guyana’s leading Club, Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club (RHTY&SC) to sponsor a 20/20 tournament as the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) continues to push development of the game in every sub-division of the Ancient County.
RHTY&SC Secretary/CEO and Chairman of the BCB Special Events Committee, Hilbert Foster at the presentation ceremony held at the Scots Church Annex Building on Friday last, disclosed that the positive development taking place in Berbice cricket will only assist to take the standard of the game even higher.
Noting that the Berbice River teams have been neglected in the past due to the distance away from the mainland, Foster stated that that will no longer be the case with this new partnership as the BCB was determined that every district would be taken care of.
Coaching of youths in the area would also be on the front burner by the BCB which will send Coaches later in the year to conduct a two-day Academy.
Executive Director of Food for The Poor (Guy) Inc. Leon Davis expressed the hope that the tournament would be successful and pledged his organisation future assistance to the development of cricket in the Berbice River area.
President of both the RHTY&SC and BCB Keith Foster, expressed delight that the Berbice River area players would finally get some competitive action going and the Board, while seek other ways to develop the game in the area even further.
Representative of the Berbice River Cricket Association, Floyd Benjamin noted that the launching of the tournament can be regarded as a red letter day for the area. He stated that the players were hungry for competitions while showering praises on the BCB, RHTY&SC and Food for The Poor (Guy) Inc. for organising and sponsoring the tournament.
The teams that would be competing are Wiruni, Ebini, Kimbia, Sand Hill and Fort Nassau. Food for the Poor Executive Director Leon Davis handed over a quantity of balls, a trophy and $200,000 worth of cricket gear among other items for the tournament to Benjamin.