Dear Editor,
As is traditional for many persons at this time of the new year, we tend to reflect on the past year – lessons learned, opportunities exploited and challenges faced, etc. We at the Demerara Cricket Club are no different. As an active stakeholder in the game and from our perspective 2010 can be characterized as a year of mixed results with an exigent future.
During the last 12 months Guyana won the regional T20 competition, was competitive in the Regional under-15 tournament, and won places on the WI A and senior teams. Guyana also won places on the WI women’s team which was successful in international competitions. Conversely, we did not perform to expectations in the longer version of the game. Many reasons can be ascribed for those unsatisfactory performances, however, moving forward with lessons learnt while chartering a new course is where the challenge lies. At the administration level many accusations were made, substantiated and unsubstantiated, of corruption, incompetence and failed initiatives. These accusations combined with the dastardly act against a cricket official raised many concerns that threatened the foundation on which our cricket stands. These challenges are not insurmountable, however; action-centered leadership supported with a clearly articulated vision is needed to remedy this undesirable position we find ourselves in. We hope that all cricket administrators and players take stock of the previous year’s performance and use the spirit of optimism that accompanies the New Year and raise our level of individual and association performances for the betterment of cricket in Guyana. On a different note, we noticed that the current President of the Guyana Cricket Board, Mr Chetram Singh has made himself unavailable for re-election. Mr Singh, affectionately called ‘Chetee’ has been the head of GCB for over 19 years. He has served selflessly with distinction in this post, and high marks should be awarded for his commitment and determination. Over this period his impact on the game cannot go unnoticed. There were a number of successes under his stewardship resulting in a raised profile of Guyana cricket locally, regionally and internationally. Before assuming the leadership of GCB, Mr Singh served as President of DCC. It was during this period that I, being a young player at the time, recognized his appreciation for the dynamics of cricket administration. Although he never played cricket competitively, Mr Singh has a keen sense of the game. His performance at the GCB dispelled the false notion that only former players can be effective administrators of the game. In fact, it could be argued that his lack of cricket-playing experience was his strength, since he did not come with the bias that former players have. For cricket administrators, objectivity, leadership and the ability to mobilize resources are more important that an outstanding cricketing resume. Demerara Cricket Club, Guyana and West Indies cricket will be forever indebted to Mr Singh for his contribution to the game we all love. While DCC is renowned for producing players the likes of Clive Lloyd, Lance Gibbs, Roy Fredricks, Roger Harper and most recently, Travis Dowlin, it’s noteworthy to mention that we have made significant contributions to the administration of cricket in Guyana, evident by Mr Singh’s extraordinary performance. Very soon DCC will be honouring Chetram Singh for his contributions.
We would also like to take this time to wish all the clubs, associations, players, administrators, sponsors much success and fulfilment in 2011.
Yours faithfully,
Alfred Mentore
For and on behalf Demerara Cricket Club