Over one million dollars in items were distributed while 23 outstanding patrons of Berbice cricket were honored yesterday as the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) commemorated its 80th anniversary celebrations.
At the Albion Community Centre, BCB President, Hilbert Foster, declared former Guyana and West Indies batsman Rohan Kanhai as the greatest cricketer to represent Berbice.
Narsingh Deonarine was adjudged as the greatest youth player to represent the county.
Deonarine represented Albion before going on to play for Guyana and West Indies U15s and U19s where he served as captain.
Kanhai, a former West Indies captain, scored 6227 test runs at an average of 47.53 from 79 test matches.
Shemaine Campbelle was adjudged the greatest female player of the county.
The BCB also honored the newest members of the West Indies Women’s side, Shabika Gajnabi and Sheneta Grimmond.
Berbice Cricket’s Hall of Fame
Introduced into the Cricket Hall of Fame were Clayton Lambert, Leslaine Lambert, Mahendra Nagamootoo, Deonarine and Derrick Kallicharan.
Outstanding administrators were not ignored and were also inducted into their own Hall of Fame with former president of the BCB, Anil Beharry leading the list that included former longstanding BCB secretary Carl Moore, Malcolm Peters, Keith Foster and Sam Suchit.
The most outstanding award of the night, the “Tribute to Heroes,” award went to former West Indies Assistant Coach, Esaun Crandon, Joseph Simon, Angela Haniff and Dennis D’Andrade.
Crandon, in brief remarks, encouraged the younger players to focus on their goals with a clear mind but not to neglect their studies for sports, proclaiming that with a solid education, sports will fall into place.
The Guyana Head Coach, who has led the side to five Regional four-day titles, thanked the organization for the recognition and wished them well in the future.
Retired players such as Andre Percival, Kevin Darlington, Orvin Mangru, Sudesh Dhaniram, D. Persaud, and Zahir Moakan were recognized for their contributions to Berbice cricket.
The BCB President reflected on the rich history of the board that began four years prior to the Guyana Cricket Board under the stewardship of Barbados-born West Indian players, Cyril Rutherford (Snuffy) Browne and Lionel Sydney Birkett.
He reminisced that the three pillars on which the board was founded were to administer the game in Berbice, nuture the cricketing talent and represent the interest of Berbice at the national level.
Nine years after its formation, Berbice had its first test player in John Trim and since then, 17 players have moved on to the highest level including one female.
During the eight decades, Foster recalled that between 2015 to 2017, the county experienced its worst period with virtually no cricket being played.
However, since 2018, the BCB has raised over $19 million and hosted over 50 tournaments.
As funding continues to pour in, Foster disclosed that former Minister of Government, Leslie Ramsammy, has facilitated a 2000USD donation for the supply of balls for the rest of the tournaments.
