Rajiv Ivan should have been selected for Berbice one-day and four-day teams

Dear Editor,

The Management of the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTYSC) would like to express its profound disgust at the sickening treatment of Rajiv Ivan by the Senior Selection Committee of the Berbice Cricket Board. Mr Ivan, who represented Guyana two years ago was left out of the Berbice one day team for the first two matches and then was belately included. To make matters worse, he has now been overlooked for selection on the Berbice four day inter-county team.

The RHTYSC as is well known has always placed the interest of Berbice cricket above its own, and that is why year after year we have worked beyond the call of duty to make sure that Berbice cricket receives the highest percentage of cricket sponsorship in Guyana. The RHTYSC has never used this to secure the selection of its players and never will do so because we strongly believe that selection should be based on merit.

Mr Ivan’s performance at the Berbice first division level over the last three years has been outstanding, and he has a better record than most of those selected over the year. He stays at home and performs while others leave for greener pastures. Only recently he led the RHT Gizmos and Gadgets to its 10th Busta Cup with a Man of the Finals performance, and was named our runner-up Cricketer of the Year. His non-selection is based on the attitude of several selectors who seem to have a personal problem with him. The sad part of all this is that these same selectors are among the non-performers in Berbice cricket. The RHTYSC is also concerned that Jason Sinclair, one of the top performers in Berbice cricket over the last six years had to carry drinks for all four matches in the one day tournament.

We stand behind our players and hope that they would be recognized for their outstanding performances. Ivan deserves to be in the Berbice four day team and we hope this injustice would be corrected. In closing, I would like to issue an appeal to all cricket officials in Guyana to serve cricket to the best of their ability and to look after the interest of all players and not only the players from their clubs.

Based on performances Ivan deserves a place in the Berbice team and the Management of the RHTYSC demands that this injustice be corrected. The sad part of this is that we are confident that if the Chairman of the BCB Selectors Mr D Somwaru was in the country, this nonsense would have never taken place.

Yours faithfully,

Hilbert Foster

Secretary/CEO

Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club