Another 23 cricket clubs in Berbice benefitted from donation of cricket balls as the Berbice Cricket Board wrapped up the distribution of over G$1.1M worth of white and red cricket balls to clubs in the ancient county.
The donation was a direct result of the effort of former Berbice Cricket Board President (BCB), Anil Beharry who raised the necessary funds to purchase the balls for the board.
Berbice Cricket Board President Hilbert Foster (left), Anil Beharry (right) and Robby Saywack (3rd from right) pose with representatives of some of the clubs with the donated cricket balls
The project was the brainchild of current BCB President, Hilbert Foster who on his election in February 2018, promised to assist every club in Berbice with at least one box of balls before the end of the year (2018). On April 29, 2018, Foster launched the project with a donation of cricket balls to 22 clubs at the cost of G$300,000. The final donation was done on Saturday August 18 at the Albion Sports Complex with eight clubs from Upper Corentyne, one from Lower Corentyne and fourteen from West Berbice being the latest recipients. The Upper Corentyne Cricket Association also received a box of cricket balls.
Foster at the simple presentation was full of praises for his longtime friend Beharry who worked beyond the call of duty to make the project a huge success. Foster, proudly announced that it was the first time that any cricket board in Guyana has ever undertaken such a massive project and that many more similar ones would be done in the future as great efforts are made to assist clubs to fulfill their mandates.
There are also plans on stream to assist clubs with white tee-shirts in another project and Foster urged the clubs to get organized in order to take advantage of the numerous opportunities.
Beharry, who served as BCB President from December 2014 to January 2016, stated that Berbice Cricket would always be close to his heart, despite now living in Georgetown due to work committment. He stated that he was delighted to be of assistance to the Foster-led board because it was visionary, committed and enjoyed the confidence of almost every Berbician.
The veteran Cricket Administrator who also served as the Berbice Cricket Board Treasurer for over a decade, stated that Berbice Cricket would have died a natural death if no new leadership was put in place.
Beharry praised the outstanding work of the Berbice Cricket Board since its election on February 18 and pledged his future support as he strongly believes that sport is a safe avenue for youths to be involved in.
Among the Clubs receiving balls were Blairmont, Achievers, D’Edward, Cotton Tree, Bush Lot United, Rising Star, Paradise, Bath, Rainbow Generation, Hopetown and Shieldstown.
Beharry would like to express gratitude to Surelan Sawh, Brian Chunilall, Noreen Gaskin, Friend of Berbice Cricket, Yasin Mohamed, Randall Patterson, Derrick Beharry, Yadram Bojh, Kalvin Sourah, Tribhowan Mohabir, Ian and Ryan Bhagwandin, Renrick Batson, Bobby and Pamela Kewlochand, R & M RebelsMathura, Gummel Mattai, Danny Somai, Faizal Jaffarally, Sharmila Muneshwar, Javed Raffik, Sean Devers, Bhim George, Jeffrey Somaroo, Jack Beharry, Vijai Dass, Leanna Bachan, Imran Saccoor, Alan Mangru, Rakesh Sooppersaud, Nazim Hussain, Owen Humphrey and Surendra Hiralall for their contributions to the project.
Meanwhile, President Foster announced that long time sponsor of the BCB, Dr Tulsi Dyal Singh is so impressed with the handling of his funds and sponsored programmes by the board that he is willing to discuss funding over a three years span. In response, the BCB promised to submit a comprehensive proposal to Dr Singh for the period 2019 to 2021.
