Trinidad & Tobago cricketers were bid farewell yesterday after their 10-day goodwill series ended on a bitter-sweet note at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) main pavilion.
The team from the twin island republic only managed to complete one of its four scheduled matches at the Wakenaam Community Centre ground. While they won that match the unusual August rains thwarted any chance of the other matches being played in the other two counties of Berbice and Demerara.
The aim of the visit was to play cricket but since that did not happen there was opportunity to learn about the culture of Guyana, according to manager of the T&T team John Lewis.
The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) and Trinidad & Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) came to the decision to have this goodwill series and there are talks of making it an annual event with Guyana making the next visit.
It was also learnt at the farewell ceremony that the idea was conceptualized between the two boards since there are no under-17 West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) competitions.
GCB President Chetram Singh noted that while he was disappointed that games were not played, he was happy that the Trinidadians got a chance to explore the beauty of Guyana.
He revealed also that hopefully in the future there will be a similar exercise for female under-17 cricketers.
Lewis thanked the GCB and the people of Guyana for their hospitality at the Chetram Singh Centre of Excellence at La Bonne Intention (LBI).
He too stressed the disappointment at not playing the amount of cricket that they were scheduled for but he was adamant that they made friends and learned aspects of the local culture and its geography.
Master of ceremonies and Public Relations Officer of the GCB Terry Holder told the gathering that he understood that they were anxious to play each other but it was regrettable that the rains had the final say. He too urged the cricketers not to look at the trip as a total disaster since they would have gotten the chance to form some lifelong friends and contacts.
He told them that these alliances will prove important to them since in some instances they might represent the West Indies together at various levels.
The Trinidad coach felt that there could have been better preparation to the pitches to ensure that cricket was played but acknowledged that it was a good trip nevertheless. He noted also that the regional governing body should start putting more emphasis on creating an under-17 tournament since this age is the gateway to under-19 and senior cricket.
“This is where the real cricket starts,” he observed. He also praised the Guyanese hospitality stating that the people were always warm to his team.
Meanwhile after the speeches, plaques and tokens of appreciation were presented to both teams.
