By Delvon Mc Ewan
President of the Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) Roger Harper says despite the circumstances which threatened the standard of cricket in the city, cricket in Georgetown is well structured and organized and is being run in a manner that the sponsors are comfortable.
In an exclusive interview with this publication, Harper said the most challenging issue the GCA faced during this year was the accessibility of grounds to play first division cricket.
“The availability of grounds to play first-division cricket interfered with the running of the competition thus we weren’t able to complete the tourney this year.”
During the year the GCA was involved in a number of court matters but Harper said the issues did not affect the playing of the game.
“It hasn’t really affected the cricket since we (GCA) were still able to run the cricket. However, it was more like an unjustified distraction to the executives. Instead of focusing their energies on taking the cricket forward they had to deal with other issues,” he explained.
Besides the challenges the GCA faced, the former national captain believes the competitions were competitive though he sees room for improvement.
“The overall standard of cricket needs to improve generally and though I think all competitions are competitive there is still need for improvement, especially the players’ individual quality,” said Harper.
The former West Indies senior team coach said that in order to see improvement, emphasis will be placed on promoting outreach development programmes, improve coaching as well as better practice sessions at the clubs.
Additionally, he said that the second-division competition is a part of their development aspects since it affords the younger players the opportunity to gain exposure.
When questioned about the concerns of the major teams to have the minnows like Ace Warriors or Diplomats or Sophia Cricket Clubs involved in second division cricket, Harper reiterated the fact that those clubs are a part of the development of cricket in Georgetown.
To emphasize his point Harper disclosed that the highest individual score in the New Building Society competition so far is 182, made by a batsman from Sophia Cricket Club, who registered the highest team score.
He also pointed out that Ace Warriors upset the Guyana National Industrial Corporation (GNIC) as did Sophia against the University of Guyana (UG).
The challenge those minnow clubs have is keeping the interest of their players he said.
At all levels of GCA cricket bowlers dominate most of the matches, and Harper, who scored 7480 first class runs, asked how can the batsmen be more productive said they needed to apply themselves and be more patient.
“A lot of time the batsmen are tempted into playing big shots, mostly aerial, they need to be more patient and show more application at the crease,” he said.
As it relates to the dominance of GCA’s powerhouse, the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) Harper, who played for the said club in his heyday, advised the other teams to work harder and prepare themselves better. He added that there are other teams that have been performing and their performance should not go unnoticed, referring to the achievements of Transport Sports Club (TSC) and GNIC, who won the GCA U-15 Cup and League competitions respectively.
“For the new year the GCA wants to run more developmental programmes, provide more opportunities so the players can play more matches and ensure the players are taught more about their individual discipline among others, in order to produce future national players,” stated Harper.
The GCA continues to contribute heavily towards the development of Guyana’s cricket and there are currently two players in the West Indies team that are products from its grade of cricket.
This publication wish the GCA and its executives the best as it seeks to improve standards in 2015.
