President of the Demerara Cricket Board (DCB) Bissoondial Singh says the Inter-Association First Division 50 over has been added to the 2009 calendar as a means of staunching the flight of players to the capital.
The competition is similar to the Under-19 matches and likewise a similar selection method will be used to choose the senior Demerara squad for the inter-county competition. Singh said the competition will also see the best of the four Demerara Zones: West Demerara, East Coast, East Bank and Georgetown in action. It will also incorporate the round robin format and a higher level of play is expected from the players vying for a place on the Demerara squad.
In a recent interview Singh told Stabroek Sport that one of the main reasons for hosting the new competition is to stop the exodus of players from the other locations to Georgetown.
The Georgetown and Demerara teams are different and “some Georgetown teams buy players from out of their district and this is not good for cricket development” Singh said. He noted too that “with only eleven eligible players on a cricket field at one time some of the better players will find themselves on the bench or even out of the ground.”
He said the competition will now force some players who had left their zones to get back in order to compete for a place in the Demerara squad. Attaining membership in the Demerara squad is considered a prerequisite for selection to the Guyana Senior National Team. “We are looking to have equality, balance and fairness amongst the four teams” competing adding that the results of the match will ensure that the best possible Demerara team will be selected for the inter-county matches against Essequibo and Berbice.
Each team will be playing three round robin matches and the best two will participate in the finals. Singh said though a date has not been set for the competition the matches will be held after the expected May/June rainy season and will culminate with the final before the inter-county play-offs.
Singh said too the Demerara team will not be selected solely from the finalists. Last year Demerara selectors found themselves in a quandary when selecting the senior 20/20 team. During the 20/20 Inter-County Compet-ition one selector tried to persuade the other three selectors including the chairman, to support his choices. Some of the players on his list were eventually taken off which caused controversy. Singh said the measures in place will ensure that this does not recur.
The resident also said that an East Bank entity has committed to donating several hundred thousand dollars in sponsorship. “Negotiations are ongoing for some additional funding for prize money for the teams,” he added.
