Sixty aspiring cricketers drawn from across the Ancient County graduated last Saturday when the second annual Berbice Cricket Board/Scotia Bank Cricket Academy ended at the Albion Sports Complex.
According to a statement from the BCB “the academy was described as highly successful and hailed as an important part in the BCB’s drive to develop new cricketing talent for the future.”
During his speech, Chairman of the BCB Special Events Committee, Hilbert Foster urged young cricketers to grasp all the opportunities the Board is offering for them to improve themselves.
He also urged them to develop the culture of hard work, commitment and discipline. He noted that the BCB is investing heavily in their future and challenged the youths to develop a deeper love for the game.
More importantly, he told them not to be involved in it just for money but as a way to improve themselves and steer clear of the social ills.
The 2009 National Male Sports Personality informed his audience that it is the BCB’s hope that the participants would emulate successful cricketers from the county.
Foster also congratulated the coaching and administrative staff of the academy which was led by Carol Nurse and Winston Smith and praised the entire BCB for working beyond the call of duty to develop cricket in the county.
Acting President of the BCB, David Black, thanked the Bank of Nova Scotia for its generous donation which would go towards the development of cricket. He promised the bank’s representative Mohamed Azim that the investment would be rewarded in the future as the new generation of cricketers continue the trend of Berbice.
Black advised the members of the academy to continue practicing what they had learned at the academy. Head Coach, Winston Smith while giving his review of the academy noted that the cricketers were exposed to basic coaching in all aspects of the game.
They were also involved in several specially organised lectures on the history of the game, its rules and on topics of importance to them. Several cricket matches were also arranged during the academy to allow the coaches to identify technical faults of the players with the objective of having them corrected.
Smith also praised the BCB for having its entire junior cricket selectors present at the entire academy so that they could have seen firsthand the attitude, work ethics and commitment of the players.
Smith was assisted by coaches Julian Moore and Delbert Hicks.
Azim, representative of Scotia Bank, expressed the bank’s pleasure at the successful hosting of the academy and assured that Scotia Bank was totally committed to the development of West Indies cricket. He called on the young cricketers to always strive for excellence and to make sure that they obtain an education.
Clinton Pestano was named Best Student of the academy, Shamindra Herdyal, Best All-rounder, and Karamchand Ramnarine, Most Disciplined. Other awards shared out were Best Under-13 Batsman- Kerrie Lewis, Best Under-13 Bowler- Daniel Lewis, Most Improved Under-13 Player- Veramootoo Senwasane, Best Under-15 Batsman- Shimron Hetymeyer, Best Under-15 Bowler- Manoj Looknauth, Most Improved Under-15 Player- Arif Chan, Best Under-17 Batsman- Royston Wade, Best Under-17 Bowler- Boughnarine Persaud, Most Improved Under-17 Player- Romario DeJonge, Best Under-19 Batsman- Dominie Rickey, Best Under-19 Bowler- Clinton Pestano and Most Improved Under-19 Player, Raun Johnson.
Chairman of the BCB Junior Selection Committee, Leslie Solomon, announced that the awardees were selected based on discipline, attitude and performance during the cricket matches. Solomon also announced a squad of 55 cricketers from under-13 to under-19.
The BCB elite training programme will be launched on August 29 as the county starts early preparations for the 2011 junior inter-county season.
The BCB also expressed its gratitude to the Albion Cricket Club, East Berbice Estate, Vemen Walter, DTV-8, Scotia Bank, Phillip Freeman, Debideen’s Catering Services and Jennifer Nelson for their input towards making the event a success.
