Dear Editor,
It has come as no major surprise to us in the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club, but for the first time since 1994, a Berbice junior cricket team has been selected without a club member. We are not surprised because for the last month we have been told that the days of the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club are numbered and that our members would be bypassed by those who are now claiming to be in charge of Berbice cricket.
Imagine being the defending Under-15 Champions in Berbice; imagine being the Guyana Cricket Club of 2016, imagine having the best junior cricket development programme in Guyana with over 150 members, and yet your members are not considered good enough to make a Berbice fourteen man squad that was selected in record time with only one thirty overs trial match in conditions very unlike cricket.
Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club members like Lucas Arthur, Mahendra Gopilall, Vijay Gopilall, Jonathan Rampersaud were all bypassed despite being very good players with great performances at the Under-15, Under-17 and Under-19 levels. No one knows who is really in charge of Berbice cricket, but a lot of power-grabbing is going on behind the scenes as people who lost at the ballot box are trying to get in via the backboard. The situation is laughable as people who are responsible for the current impasse in Berbice are now actively involved in behind the scenes administration of Berbice cricket and are openly issuing threats that certain clubs would be taught a lesson. Several members have been told that they should leave the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club because the Fosters (Hilbert and Keith) would be brought to their knees and the club would cease to function.
Our success on and off the cricket field has attracted a number of critics who are now fighting for power at the Berbice Cricket Board, but they should be aware that our success has been because of sheer hard work, visionary leadership and commitment. What is even more shocking is that the Berbice team was selected by four selectors from the West Berbice and New Amsterdam/Canje area, and none from the Lower Corentyne area, where traditionally the bulk of best Berbice players come from. At least two of these selectors have no idea of any cricketers at the youth level, and would only know of players in the catchment area. One of the selectors was appointed under very strange conditions by the new Caesar of Berbice cricket, despite having no proper involvement in major cricket development and hailing from a club which at best cannot compete at any level. Each selector looked after their own interest, and as such a fourteen man squad was announced.
The Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club wishes the youths in the Berbice squad the best of luck and hope that they make us proud. The Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club despite the hatred of a few, would continue to play its part in a major role in the development of Berbice cricket; we would continue to invest in our youths and most importantly we would continue to assist every cricketer and cricket club that walks into our office for assistance. We would do so because our commitment is to make god’s work a better place and to ensure that every youth is given an opportunity to fulfil their god-given talent.
Finally, we would like to bring to the attention of all Berbicians two incidents concerning the President of our Club and a female member who were part of the Berbice Cricket Board. Ms Plaffiana Millington at sixteen years was elected Assistant Secretary of the Berbice Cricket Board in December 2014 but resigned for personal reasons in early February 2015. She submitted her resignation letter to the Board which was accepted. To her shock, a person who is now seeking power through the back door and who took legal action against the Berbice Cricket Board sent a message to her via another of our national female cricketers seeking her official resignation from the Berbice Cricket Board. Keith Foster who served as President of the Berbice Cricket Board for six highly successful years from 2009 to 2014 was selected by the Anil Beharry administration as an appointed member. The Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club President immediately informed the Berbice Cricket Board that he declined the appointment because he wanted a permanent break from the politics of Guyana’s cricket. A resignation letter was then submitted to the Berbice Cricket Board. To his amazement, in early February 2017, he received a letter on an unfamiliar Berbice Cricket Board letterhead informing him that his appointment as a member was rescinded by the new President. The letter was signed by an individual who signed as President of the Berbice Cricket Board despite no one knowing who elected him to that position. Our President was even more shocked to be informed that the new Berbice Cricket Board ‘President’ was looking to appoint new members who are active in their club and who have special skills in cricket. The first question, the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club would like to have answered is, how in heaven’s name can you fire someone who has never accepted a position in the first place and even submitted his resignation?
As per active participation in cricket, Keith Foster is the President of the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club which is without doubt the best youth and sports club in Guyana. Last year the club won the Guyana Cricket Club of the Year Award and became the only sports club in Guyana’s history to have ever received a national award. The Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club completed an unbelievable 453 programmes in 2016, and hosted more cricket tournaments during the year than all of the major cricket boards in Guyana combined. The Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club produced a total of twelve junior cricketers for Guyana at all levels, two West Indies female cricketers, five Guyana female senior cricketers, three Guyana senior cricketers and a total of eight played for Berbice at the junior level. Additionally, the club had eleven players participating in the Guyana Cricket Board League Tournament. Under Keith Foster’s presidency the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club also assisted countless clubs and cricketers to fulfil their mandate and potential by assisting them with millions of dollars worth of trophies, equipment and gear.
For the record, it must be noted that the Keith Foster presidency was the most successful in the history of Berbice cricket. The period 2009 to 2014 saw the lifting of cricket to an all-time level and made Berbice cricket the envy of Guyana and the Caribbean. Cricket was played at both the Inter-zone and club levels while over 1500 programmes/activities were successfully completed. For the period 2009-2014 over 60 cricket tournaments were hosted while programmes like the Annual Award Ceremony, the Annual Magazine, the Annual Cricket Academy, monthly television programmes, Tribute to Heroes, Tribute to Retired Cricketers, cricket educational posters, Test Cricketers Billboard, Berbice All Time XI, Hall of Fame for Cricketers, Hall of Fame for Administra-tors, anti-drugs, anti-suicide, elite coaching programme, Inter-county cap system, Tribute to Coaches and Tribute to Umpires were introduced. The Berbice Cricket Board also hosted highly successful 70th and 75th anniversary celebrations while over 80 clubs received assistance to fulfil their mandates.
The Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club is well known across Guyana and is totally committed to working with everyone to develop cricket in Berbice. Our main objective is to make sure that all youths fulfil their potential. People in management need to understand that setting personal scores has no place in sport.
Yours faithfully,
Hilbert Foster
Secretary/CEO
RHTYSC
