2022 was one of the better years for Berbice Cricket

– as Foster and the BCB continue to set high standards, support from Government of Guyana hailed

By Brandon Corlette

Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) President Hilbert Foster has described 2022 as one of the better years for Berbice Cricket, despite the challenges posed by the constant rainfall. In an exclusive interview with this publication, Foster reflected on the highlights of the year, and what has been most pleasing to the BCB in terms of performance.

Highlights
The BCB dominated the senior inter-county tournament in 2022, claiming the championship. It dominated all female tournaments, and hosted West Indies legends. Sir Curtly Ambrose, Dr Desmond Haynes, Jimmy Adams, Sir Andy Roberts and Roland Butcher all made appearances in Berbice to host special clinics/sessions.

However, Foster has said he deems the major highlight of 2022 as Berbician cricketer Ashmini Munisar being appointed captain of the West Indies Women’s Under-19 team.
A very encouraging development, he said, has been the Irfaan Ali-led Government of Guyana having an all-hands-on-deck approach towards cricket in Berbice.
“The main challenge for BCB in 2022 was the weather. The rainy season took away 3/4 of the season for us, and it affected our ability to host tournaments on a regular basis, and do development programmes on the cricket field. Apart from that, everything went well, and we would describe our 2022 as one of the better years,” Foster explained.

Performance
In regard to what has been most pleasing for the BCB in 2022, he disclosed: “I think it was the performances of our players at the Regional and West Indies levels. Berbice cricketers continue to dominate selection into the Guyana teams at all levels. I think we had about 60 Berbicians representing Guyana at the different levels in 2022, (and) the performance of them was quite pleasing.”

Speaking about Ashmini Munisar’s elevation to lead the WI Women’s U19 team, Foster declared: “The most pleasing thing for BCB this year was to see the appointment of Ashmini Munisar, who is the captain of the West Indies U-19 Women’s team. As we all know, she and Realanna Grimmond are heading to the U-19 World Cup, the first ever. I think this is a big achievement, not only for BCB, but for the Rose Hall Canje Community Centre Cricket Club.
“We also had seven or eight players in the historic Guyana Under-13 team, with Berbice captain being the vice-captain.”
Players from Berbice have also earned selection at the senior West Indies team in 2022, including notable players Romario Shepherd, Shimron Hetmyer, Gudakesh Motie, Shemaine Campbelle, Shabika Gajnabi and Shenata Grimmond.

Government’s assistance
Foster has also expressed great appreciation for the assistance the BCB has been having from various Government Ministers.
“We were happy that several Government Ministers came on board… We had Minister Nigel Dharamlall, who assisted us to obtain the services of coaches; Minister Collin Croal, Minister Susan Rodrigues… They all assisted, and our Patron (Minister Vickram Bharrat) continues to be a good patron. The Ministry of Sport continues to invest in grounds across Berbice, and this is important for our development,” Foster said.
Foster also noted that the grounds of clubs such as Young Warriors, Rose Hall Town, Port Mourant, Skeldon and Blairmont need rehabilitative work, and this is something the BCB is looking forward to see happening in 2023.
“We would also want the Government to assist in getting some practice pitches; some bowling machines – at least six – to be distributed across the counties; and construction of concrete pitches in four sub-areas in Berbice,” he said.
While this BCB is arguably the best administration in terms of getting sponsorship, several tournaments are still left to be completed; but Foster has explained that those tournaments would be completed in the near future, and would not be written off.
The BCB was able to provide cricket nets, cricket gear and pitch covers, among other equipment, to various cricket clubs during the year.
Schools cricket is known for producing talented players, and Foster and the BCB have placed emphasis on this aspect. The BCB has been able to donate more than Gy$2M in cricket gear to schools’ cricket and coaching programmes in 2022.