On Tuesday evening, the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) celebrated the recent performances of its players at the Regional and International levels with a dinner and presentation ceremony.
The gala event was held at the Savannah Suite of the Le Meridien Pegasus Hotel where the GCB rolled out numerous gifts (some of which came compliments of a few sponsors) as they hailed the World Cup winning West Indies U19 trio of Captain Shimron Hetmyer, Vice-captain Keemo Paul and wicket-keeper Tevin Imlach.
Also honoured were the two Guyanese females, Shamaine Campbelle and Tremayne Smartt, who were members of the West Indies Women’s T20 team that won the title a few Sundays back and the two-time West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Professional Cricket League (PCL) Regional 4-Day champs, Guyana Jaguars.
They were recognized for their fantastic achievement of winning back-to-back regional Four-Day tournaments over the past two seasons, going unbeaten for some 18 games in the process.
During his brief speech, GCB Secretary, Anand Sanasie, said the ceremony was especially important for the Jaguars who are only allowed to retain 10 players and could lose some of their current players in the 2016/17 player draft.
Acknowledging that his team could be reshuffled for the new season, Sanasie said it was decided that that current side, which has dominated Regional four-day cricket the last two seasons, should be exalted.
“Since the new draft is coming up, the players who did well over the past few years, we have decided to honour them before we lose them,” said Sanasie.
Apart from the senior team’s triumph, Guyana cricket teams also won the
Regional U15 and 19 competitions which forced Guyana Jaguars skipper Leon Johnson to declare that after so much success, “Guyana cricket is on the rise.”
Johnson, speaking on behalf of the team, thanked the board for their support over the past few seasons and said that it was good to have helped Guyana to win back-to-back four-day titles.
The Guyana Jaguars players, along with their coaches, each received a solid gold championship ring which carries a semi-precious stone on the top and had `PCL Champs’ engraved with 2015 and 2016, the years they won the titles, on the two sides.
Campbelle and Smartt received gold chains while the three U19 players received rings as well with the exception of Hetmyer who got a ring for being a part of the Jaguars Team and a chain for his U19 World Cup success.
James Bond, a representative of the National Sports Commission (NSC), who spoke on behalf of Director of Sports, Christopher Jones who is currently in Panama, hailed the players for their success and thanked them for their contribution to sport in Guyana.
Gizmos & Gadgets, during their presentation, gave the U19 trio a pair of Serengeti designer shades.
