Dear Editor,
As the saying goes: “If you are driving a vehicle you should not only be looking through your windshield, you must also use your rear view mirror.”
The illegal Guyana Cricket Board announced on September 17, 2015, that no Inter-County or four-day trial matches will be held in 2015 in preparation for the 2015-2016 West Indies Cricket Board Professional Cricket League four-day First Class tournament scheduled to commence on 6th November, 2015. They claimed that a scheduled Inter-County tournament for 2015 was rained out, and that they would be holding no trial matches and only two practice matches would be played. They also announced that they are looking for sponsors in order to run off an inaugural semi-professional four-day league involving eight teams, to start at the end of 2015.
This is utter nonsense! The immediate needs are preparation and selection of the Guyana team to represent us at the West Indies Cricket Board Professional Cricket League four-day First Class tournament. Obviously, this arrangement gives no consideration to rising stars or fringe players to perform at an Inter-County or trial match. Are we to believe that they have already selected the team?
With no three-day First Division cricket tournament – last played in 2009 in Guyana ‒ and no Inter-County or national trials in 2015, what kind of preparation will our players have? Two practice matches will not be enough. What the players need is competitive four-day matches on properly prepared pitches.
With the rest of September and the whole of October left, why are the Guyana Cricket Board and the franchise holders sitting on their hands? From time immemorial the month of October has been the month when the Inter-County tournament is played. What have they used the monthly stipend of US$45,000 from the West Indies Cricket Board for?
Our team ‒ for the first time I think ‒ was last at the 2013-2014 tournament, due to lack of preparation. In the 2014-2015 tournament we were the champions because, with four 50 overs and six four-day Inter-County matches, our team was properly prepared. We need to repeat this by winning the 2015-2016 championships.
I urge the administration to take a look into their rear view mirror. We still have seven weeks to prepare. ‘Failure to prepare is preparation to fail.’
The arrangements for the Under-15 cricketer Kevin Sinclair of Berbice, were badly bungled to the extent that he was denied the unique opportunity of touring England as a member of the West Indies Under-15 team in August, at a time when the Guyana Cricket Board did not even find it fit to inform the Berbice Cricket Board of his selection. We are still awaiting a special response from the Guyana Cricket Board for this tragedy.
They should not make a mess of the preparation of our team.
Yours faithfully,
Mortimer George
Former Honorary Secretary
Berbice Cricket Board
