The Berbice Cricket Umpires Association (BCUA) yesterday held elections at the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) office where Imran Moakan was elected president of the body.
Moakan, who along with the rest of the new executives was elected unopposed, takes over the reins from the late Joseph Simon who passed away at his New Amsterdam home last month.
In an invited comment, Moakan, who previously served as vice-president of the body, told Stabroek Sport, “It is very significant at this juncture to have strong leadership especially since the sad passing of our president Mr. Joseph Simon and being tasked with a host of inexperienced umpires.”
Moakan, who started his umpiring career in 2007, and has been a member of Cricket West Indies’ junior umpire panel since 2012, will be aided with the services of Shawn Coonjah and the returning Moses Ramphal who will serve as his vice-president and secretary respectively.
Ingram Johnson was elected treasurer and Muntaz Alli, the assistant treasurer. The committee members are Abbas Hussain, Martin Johnson and Ameer Rahaman.
Hilbert Foster, BCB president, a Director at Cricket West Indies and vice-president of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) performed the role of returning officer.
Foster congratulated the new executives on their election and urged them to work harder to make sure that they fulfilled their commitment to serve.
The BCB boss stated that too many persons take up positions for personal glory and have no interest in the development of the game. He pledged that as long as he remains the BCB president, it would not only be the best but would expand at an unbelievable rate. He also reassured the umpires that the BCB will always be a friend in bad and good times.
Additionally, Foster unveiled some areas for the association to work on and committed himself and the board to work along with the association. He noted that since his election in 2018, the umpires association has had a place at the table as they are a vital stakeholder in the development of the game.
The GCB vice-president noted that in sports, everyone is equal and there is no need for administrators to have a superior attitude and also, to the surprise of the body, announced a $100,000 financial grant for the development of the association.
The grant will be used for the continued development of umpires and to assist the BCUA in its day-to-day operation.
The BCB will also spearhead the setting up of a Hall-of-Fame for outstanding umpires special Christmas packages for all umpires and the hosting of a special cricket match to honor the memory of several umpires who died recently. The BCUA Members would invite their Demerara counterparts for a T20 match and a domino competition.
President Foster has committed himself to assisting the BCUA to raise the necessary sponsorship for the event along with trophies and medals etc. He also promised the umpires that based on their request; he will seek how to possibly obtain special umpires hats for them.
Moakan expressed thanks to Foster for his proactive leadership and also for his dedication to the development of everyone in the game.
