Dear Editor,
Indiscipline among some senior Berbice cricketers has been rising over the last few months and it was with great satisfaction that I read in the media that the Albion Cricket Club has taken the lead in tackling this sad situation. The banning of Ramnarine Chattergoon for fifteen months and Jonathan Foo for 18 months is a step in the right direction and all cricket fans in the Ancient County should applaud the executive of the club for standing up to indiscipline.
Some senior Berbice Inter-county players believed that they are an institution by themselves and are not answerable to anyone. They have no respect for club officials who worked unselfishly to develop them free of cost into what they have become, and believe that they are God’s gift to humanity. I am very upset at the failure of the Berbice Cricket Board to deal with these players with immediate effect and the Board needs to correct this situation. Failure to do so will result in these players destroying the outstanding work of the Berbice Cricket Board which has lifted Berbice cricket to a very high level.
The Keith Foster-led administration must join Albion and start to discipline players who have over stepped their boundaries.
Editor, here are some examples that the Berbice Cricket Board should look at urgently:
a) Some senior Berbice players refuse to practice at their clubs grounds. These players hardly practise but they are expected to play for their clubs at weekend. They also fail to assist the younger players to develop their game and are poor role models for their younger peers.
b) Senior players refused to obey the Berbice Cricket Board instruction to stay away from the Guyana Cricket Board organized practice matches to select the team against Trinidad in the two 20/20 matches. Most of them refused to turn up at a special meeting convened by the Berbice Cricket Board to explain their decisions.
c) One senior player who sometimes captains the Berbice team refused to represent his club at the Universal DVD 20/20 Finals despite being selected to play.
d) Two senior Berbice players refused to play for the Lower Corentyne Zone in the first match of the Carib/Pepsi 20/20 tournament. This resulted in the Lower Corentyne being defeated by the West Berbice team. The reason why they did not play was because both were stripped of the captain and vice-captain roles.
e) One of the players refused to attend a Berbice Cricket Board special meeting with all Berbice senior players but he was present at the Guyana Cricket Board press conference in Georgetown at the same time the Berbice Cricket Board was meeting with the Berbice players.
f) Some senior players led a mini-revolution against the Berbice Cricket Board to get more funds added to their $2M prize money that was won in the Hits & Jams 20/20 tournament. Their failure to support the Berbice Cricket Board‘s outstanding work is unbelievable and all they are concerned with is themselves.
g) Some Berbice players at most Berbice Cricket Board matches turn up very late to represent their clubs, while the junior players turn up at least one hour before the game. The seniors turn up five minutes before the game starts and sometimes after the game starts with no excuses given.
h) Some senior Berbice players decide which match they will play for their club when they are at home. These players felt that playing against some teams was a waste of time and simply refused to turn up as they would not enough batting or bowling.
i) The new trend among some senior players is to refuse to bat in 20/20 matches if they feel that the overs are not enough for them to bat. I was at the Skeldon ground recently and saw players with their batting pads on refusing to bat for Lower Corentyne when they realized that the overs were running out. The reason for this was that they were unsure of their position on the Guyana team and were afraid to fail.
j) The positions of coach and manager were used to reward close associates or in an effort to gain support. The selection of one official was totally out of the blue but was a direct effort to get the support the Enterprise Cricket Club against the current leadership of the East Coast Cricket Club.
Editor, no player is bigger than the game and the time has come for the Berbice Cricket Board and clubs to take stands against indiscipline. Albion has taken the first step and I would like to urge Mr Hilbert Foster of the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club, Mr Godfrey Persaud of Port Mourant Cricket Club, Mr Anil Beharry of Young Warriors, Mr Carl Moore of Bermine, Mr David Black of West Berbice, Mr Shabeer Baksh of Blairmont to follow in the footsteps of Albion and curb the growing indiscipline.
These players must recognise that they are not permanent members of the Berbice team and there are players like Shawn Pereira, Eon Hooper, Keron Fraser, Kevin Ramdeen, Gudakesh Motie, Quacy McPherson, Joemal La Fleur, Eugene La Fleur, Raid Ally among others who are awaiting their turn to replace them.
Berbice cricket must look at indiscipline among its senior players right now before it is too late.
Yours faithfully,
Harold Ramdass
