– national male and female youth teams to play overseas
President of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Chetram Singh on Friday night told those gathered at the Waterchris Hotel and Bar for the farewell dinner held in honour of the national female under-19 and male under-15 teams that a unique achievement will be recorded on their departure.
“It is the first time in the history of Guyana’s cricket that we will be sending out two teams at the same time and both are youth teams, namely the under-15 male and the under-19 female teams respectively.”
The under-15 team left for Trinidad and Tobago where they will compete for the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB)/Clico-sponsored Regional under-15 championship while the female under-19 will be competing in the WICB tournament in St Lucia.
Singh who is also the longest serving WICB director, charged the teams especially the males to give of their best in a tournament, Guyana only won once back in 1998 under the captaincy of Narsingh Deonarine.
“Your participation in this tournament does not only provide you with the opportunity to represent your country, but you also have the opportunity to represent the West Indies on three occasions, starting at the under-15, 19 and senior teams respectively.”
Singh also noted, “But in order for you to do so, you need to go out there and give of your best. I have seen some of the matches and read some of the scores and to my mind this team is a well rounded team which is capable of giving a good account of itself.”
Stating that over 700,000 Guyanese will be looking forward to good things from the team in T&T, Singh added that there will be ample home support from the thousands of Guyanese living in the twin island republic for the team.
“The fate of Guyana at the under-15 level rests in your hands. I know you are capable and you also have a capable manager and coach who will be your everything in Trinidad, along with a strong support from the thousands of Guyanese living there. You will be ambassadors for the country.”
Singh informed the female under-19 team that a lot of opportunities will be coming their way as the International Cricket Council (ICC) has already identified a T20 World Cup for female cricketers next year.
“Everything that is happening in men’s cricket will be taking place in women’s cricket so there is a lot of opportunity for you female cricketers out there. The ICC has mandated all cricket boards that the segregation of cricket between men and women no longer exists. Everybody must be governed by one body.”
“There are lots of opportunities all around for both teams, so I am charging you to be good ambassadors for the country and in wishing you success on behalf of the GCB, I am looking forward to seeing both teams return with some silverware,” said Singh.
Minister of Sport Dr Frank Anthony also encouraged both teams to do their best for the country, stating that there are lots of hopes resting on their shoulders, especially the male under-15 team.
While encouraging both teams, Dr Anthony also urged them to aim high with a view to playing for the West Indies and he pointed out that hard work was the key for such an achievement to take place.
“Aspiring to that would mean you have to demonstrate a lot of hard work and as we all know, there is nothing that comes without hard work. That is something you will have to bear in mind, especially in cricket, where there are two aspects that are very important.”
He also noted that, “Very often, we excel at the physical aspects of the game. Some of us can bat or bowl well, but when it comes to applying ourselves to situations when we are under pressure, we sometimes do not do as well and that’s something you will have to develop, something you will get better at in time.”
Dr. Anthony also applauded the GCB for their handling of their affairs and made reference to their very detailed developmental plan for the sport of cricket, something many other sports disciplines had not been able to demonstrate like the GCB.
“The work that the GCB has been doing in schools is paying off today. We are getting more persons who are coming out of the school system and represent the country and I guess we will have to do the same for women’s cricket in the country and because of their developmental programme, I think we are making progress.”
Meanwhile, the sports minister stated that the GCB and his ministry would be moving ahead with the cricket academy at the Guyana National Stadium, with or without the promised help of the WICB.
He also observed that the GCB was perhaps one of the very few organizations who were very organized and have demonstrated that they can work throughout the year, and were able to raise funds so that when teams are going abroad they did not have to approach his ministry for assistance. He added that he would like to see other associations emulate this.
Both managers of the respective teams thanked the GCB for the opportunity given to them to manage the teams and vowed to return home with success under their belts.
