The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) will begin its 2018 season with the senior female Inter-County tournament on February 2 while it will not be hosting the Under-19 version of the competition.
According to Territorial Development Officer (TDO) attached to the GCB, Colin Stuart, the youth version has been canceled.
Stuart, however, told this publication that the body will introduce a “Select Under 19 team” to feature in the competition among the seniors.
Stabroek News understands that those who will be at the forefront of selection for the under-19 team which will consist of roughly 20 players will come from players who have represented the country previously and are still eligible as well as those who would have shown talent when they appeared in the GCB under-17 female franchise held in November last year and some of those who have shown potential in various communities.
As of yesterday the competitions committee had not finalized venues nor fixtures but gave the assurance that this information will be available as soon as possible.
Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) has voiced their disgust over the GCB’s cancellation of the youth competition which had been scheduled to begin yesterday.
On the BCB’s social media account, the BCB stated “It is a huge shame how the GCB is running cricket in Guyana. They forwarded two emails to the BCB to prepare the team for the tournament that was scheduled to start on Friday 25th January. The BCB has been busy doing so for over three weeks and now they have cancelled the event.”
Stuart said that there was some consideration to have the U19 tournament played but at the cricket board level it was decided that it will better served to have the national U19s in the senior tournament to help facilitate a higher level of competition for the youth team.
