The Guyana and Trinidad Mutual Fire and Life Insurance (GTM) Group on Wednesday presented the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) with a cheque for $3.1 million for this year’s Under-19 tournament.
At a simple ceremony held in the boardroom of the sponsors, Company Secretary and Human Resources Manager Edward Persico expressed his company’s delight at partnering with the GCB once again.
“We have been partnering with the GCB for over 30 years and I must say that GTM is very proud of this relationship and we are happy to be associated with this competition which gives the young players the opportunity to showcase their talent.”
Persico highlighted the West Indies resurgence in the cricketing world and used star batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan who was a product of the GCB/GTM Under-19 Inter-county tournament as an example.
“When a cricket fan took a look at the performance of the West Indies team against England, they would have seen an outstanding Guyanese batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan. But what I think many of them would not have known is that Sarwan was a product of this very tournament.”
He said further, “With that in mind, GTM is prepared to go the extra mile to ensure this tournament journeys on as we produce more Sarwans, Chanderpauls and even Hoopers for West Indies cricket.”
President of the GCB Chetram Singh thanked the sponsors for their continued relationship, which he said was the longest cricket sponsorship in the Caribbean.
“In saying thanks to GTM for their continued relationship with the GCB, I must take the time to point out that every member of the present Guyana senior team is a product of this tournament. At the same time, the relationship with GTM is to my mind the longest single sponsorship in cricket in the Caribbean.”
Singh also noted that the sponsors were ready to go the extra mile when approached by the GCB, in connection with the limited overs format of the competition.
“In keeping with the way things are at both the ICC and West Indies Cricket Board level, the GCB has decided to implement the limited overs version of the Under-19 competition and when they were approached, management of GTM were not hesitant to saying yes to the extra sponsorship, as if they were ready for such a proposal,” said Singh.
Singh further stated that the GCB in their attempt to decentralize the game of cricket would be repeating the fixture that was used for the GCB/Castrol Under-15 Inter-county competition, where the first two rounds will be played at the Anna Regina Community Centre ground.
“We have just completed the hostel in Anna Regina and had a successful hosting of the Castrol Under-15 tournament there. Therefore, we would be taking the first two rounds in this competition to the county of Essequibo whilst a limited overs match is scheduled for Albion in Berbice.”
The first match in the three-day format of the competition is set for the Anna Regina ground where Essequibo and Demerara will do battle from the 18th to 20th April, followed by defending champions Berbice and Essequibo battling it out at the same venue two days later.
The final fixture of the competition will pit Demerara and Berbice at the Guyana National Stadium from 26th to 28th April.
Meanwhile, the limited overs format will bowl off on the 30th April, with Demerara and Essequibo clashing at Everest, Essequibo and Berbice at Albion followed by the final match between Demerara and Berbice at the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) ground.
