The Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) is predicting a busy 2023 with RL Contracting the latest in a long line of sponsors to come on board.
The company which is owned by Rondhall Lewis revealed that they will be sponsoring the under-15 inter-club tournament, organized by the Berbice Cricket Board. This tournament will complement the existing structures in under-11, U13, U15, U17, U19, U21, U23, Female, primary, secondary, intermediate, internal zone, second division and first division tournaments.
The U15 tournament would involve players born on or after September 1, 2008 and approximately 18 teams are expected to play. Among the clubs expected to play are Rose Hall Farfan and Mendes, Albion, Port Mourant, Rose Hall Canje, Cotton Tree, Tucber Park, Mt Sinai, Achievers and Bush Lot United.
Teams will be divided into four zones and played in a round robin format with the top two teams from each zone advancing to the quarterfinals.
The BCB selection committee, headed by Balram Samaroo will use the tournament to not only select the inter-county U15 team but to identify promising players for the board’s coaching programmes.
BCB president, Hilbert Foster, at the launching said this is another red-letter day in the remarkable progress taking place in the county for cricket.
Foster, who is spearheading a massive marketing campaign for the cricket board disclosed that over 80 percent of the planned tournaments have already received sponsorships or commitments. He expressed gratitude to Lewis for his support and reassured the sponsor that the tournament would be a success.
The BCB President, who is in the final year of his third term since being elected in 2018, stated that the highlight of 2023 would be the return of cricket in schools at both primary and secondary levels, an expansion of the county wide coaching programme, an overseas tour by a Berbice U21 team, acquiring several vital equipment such as bowling machines and the introduction of two days cricket at the junior level. Lewis, in brief remarks stated that he was delighted to play a part in the development of young talents in the county. He expressed confidence that several future stars for the county would emerge from the tournament and that the legacy of Rohan Kanhai, Basil Butcher, Alvin Kallicharran and Roy Fredericks would continue to shine.
