Dear Editor,
The Essequibo Cricket Board (ECB) selectors are being paid a stipend and they are therefore required to attend trial matches and tournaments within the various area committees in order to identify the best group of players. Disappointingly there have been very few tournaments within those constituencies with the exception of the North Essequibo and Wakenaam Area Committees. Even more distressful has been the abject failure of the ECB to organize trial matches in order to select inter-county teams, a trend that has resulted in the de-recognition of some of the better players from possible selection. The recent selection of the ECB senior four day inter-county squad again was determined without any trials, and interestingly only one player from North Essequibo was selected, despite the fact that this committee played the most competitions. In contrast, three players were selected from the Central Committee which hasn’t played a single competition for the past three years! My conclusion therefore is that the selectors are guessing as well as destroying the careers of many promising young cricketers who continue to excel without recognition from the ECB. I am therefore very disappointed and wonder what criteria were used to select the present squad. In fact none of the selectors have ever played for Essequibo at any level, or for that matter for any of the area committees, while never before were stipends given to selectors.
The present scenario must not go unnoticed, since a significant investment was made by the various stakeholders to realize the ECB Cricket Hostel whose purpose is to host the players for trial matches, competitions and camps whenever necessary. The admirable rise of Ransford Beaton has also heightened the interest of many of the young players to strive for similar success. Such optimism will not be rewarded, however, once the hostel continues to be neglected. The water-taps can be seen overflowing daily in addition to which the lights are on all the time, the building is not secure, and is rapidly deteriorating. The practice facility was never completed. Can the ECB afford such an invaluable facility to be ruined? In the meantime the morale of many of the players has been low, and understandably, so since the ECB and the selectors are playing a different game from cricket.
Yours faithfully,
Elroy Stephney
