A gentleman’s game, or the tarnishing of a game’s reputation?

West Berbice cricket

Cricket, known over time as the universal language, is a game that unites everyone. It is a game that has to be played with great respect and discipline on and off the field; and fairness in its adjudication is required at all times.
However, on the West Coast of Berbice, a cricket issue has been brewing which, if left uninvestigated, can have detrimental effects on the game.
In a match played between No.5 Cricket Club and their Cotton Tree counterparts, No.5 emerged victorious, but the results were protested because a particular player on that team was not from Berbice, but from Catherine in Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara, two minutes’ travel from the Abary Bridge that separates the counties of (West) Berbice and (East) Demerara.
In a sit-down with this publication, a source who desires to remain anonymous disclosed, “Several persons in this (#5WCB) club have played with us in Trinidad; namely Estraido, Nurse, Bailey and Bobb. The West Berbice Cricket Board is now asking for us to send a written request (if we want) to participate in Berbice competitions, after (holding) a meeting last night.
“It is quite unfair, as the Bush Lot (WCB) team consists of players from Fairfield (Mahaicony) and other clubs that are not part of Berbice, but yet these players still continue to play. However, (there are) persons playing with other clubs from two and five villages away from (mine), (playing) for the likes of Bush Lot, Paradise (WCB) etc.”
This source has opined that there is a certain level of bias being shown towards the No.5 Team, as there are on that team players who have played with that club for the past 3 years and no issue had ever arisen. However, come 2019, out of the blue, there is an issue barring certain players from the No.5 Team from playing in Berbice competitions.
This source is alleging that certain big-name players from Georgetown play for East Berbice teams; players such as Carmichael, Barrington, Barnwell and Jacobs — all prominent Demerara players.
It is even alleged that teams have paid umpires to ‘sell’ matches, and even teams and players at times.
“Young Warriors CC and Blairmont CC (both from B/ce) have players leaving to go in town to play cricket. Why is that a problem? In East Berbice, the BCB President only having a one-sided face on the current issue at hand, thus we are calling for a new president.
“This is what you get when you help players go to Trinidad & Barbados to play cricket from Guyana, and the BCB and (its) President react differently. It is made to look as if Guyanese who play cricket and live in Trinidad cannot come back home to help and give back to smaller clubs; and because you are two or three villages away from West Berbice, (over the) Abary Bridge, you can’t play for a West Berbice team.” the source noted.
With such an issue now arising, it begs the question: What really is going in cricket on the West Coast of Berbice?