– hectic fourth quarter ahead
In spite of the vagaries of weather that caused the cancellation of several planned tournaments, the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) had a productive third quarter from July to September.
According to a press release from the board, this was declared at its quarterly press briefing on Wednesday last.
Among the executive members present at the press briefing were the Board’s President Keith Foster, First Vice President David Black, Secretary Angela Haniff, Treasurer Anil Beharry and PRO Hilbert Foster.
According to the release, the board reported that it had organised 16 field programmes, including the Berbice Senior Elite training programme, coaching clinics (for bowling, batting, wicket keeping), the second Annual Cricket Academy, the Junior Captain Seminar, the formation of the Berbice “A” Team. and filming of coaching DVDs.
Its benevolent events included the Narsingh Deonarine Trust Fund, Berbice Senior Players Charity Programme and its Tribute to Retired Players Programme.
Additionally, during this quarter, the board honoured three of its most prestigious cricketers – Devendra Bishoo, Jonathan Foo and Shemaine Campbell.
According to the third-quarter report read by PRO Hilbert Foster, the board also commenced the early preparation of its junior cricket team for 2011, introduced a cap system for the “A” Team and made financial contributions to the three Berbice female players on the West Indies team.
It was also reported that during the quarter Berbice cricket teams had won the Digicel countrywide 20/20 tournament on top of the DJ Stress Competition, which was due to early and intense preparation of the players.
In addition, Berbice made hefty contributions to the Guyana national 20/20 team that participated in the inaugural Caribbean Cup, and the Airtels Championship in South Africa, with nine team members coming from Berbice.
Despite the rain, the board was able to complete the NCN Under-15 Inter-zone and Diamond Fire & General Insurance Under-19 Inter-zone tournaments, and on September 25 and 29 the Berbice “A” team played Demerara in matches organized by the BCB, Hilbert Foster said.
Currently the Republic Bank Under-17 Inter-zone tournament and Tenelec Inc 50-Overs First Division tournament are being played and are expected to be completed as soon as possible. The Tenelec Inc Under-15, NBS Second Division and Spready’s Bakery Under-19 tournaments are scheduled to restart shortly.
Meanwhile long-serving Treasurer Anil Beharry updated Berbicians on the board’s account which is in excess of $1.5 million, after offsetting numerous expenses associated with the BCB’s extensive list of activities. Beharry gave a complete breakdown of income and expenditure as part of the BCB’s efforts to be transparent.
According to the release, the fourth quarter of 2010 is expected to be a hectic one for clubs and players in Berbice with five tournaments to be played. This last quarter also has a total of twenty off-the-field programmes to be run off.
Also addressing the audience, the Board’s President Keith Foster and First Vice-President David Black spoke about the hard work by everyone associated with the BCB and expressed gratitude to the cricketing public and sponsors for their co-operation over the last three years.
Keith Foster stated that never in the history of Berbice cricket have so many sponsors been onboard and this was testimony to the confidence the public has in the administration.
