Executives of the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB), as part of their ‘Meet the Club’ Programme on Sunday last, hosted the first Berbice Cricket Stakeholders Conference at the Albion Sports Club.
Hilbert Foster
President of the BCB, Hilbert Foster, has made it quite clear that all major decisions concerning Berbice Cricket would only be made after consultation with stakeholders across the entire county.
The President stated that no one has a monopoly on ideas, and as such, every suggestion or idea would be taken into consideration before a decision on the way forward is made.
As such, the BCB is pleased to inform the cricketing public that the following decisions were made at the stakeholders’ conference, which was attended by the majority of clubs in the Ancient County. The vote was unanimous and the BCB, as mandated by the Stakeholders of Berbice Cricket, would work hard to achieve them.
On a recommendation from the Albion Cricket Club, delegates supported the return of the Senior Inter-County Championship between Berbice, Demerara and Essequibo. Delegates were of the opinion that the Senior Inter-County Championship was an honour for players to represent their county at the highest level, and should be held once again. They agreed that the Guyana Cricket Board Franchise League was a novelty idea, but said it should not replace the historic championship.
Delegates supported the call for the Guyana Cricket Board to permit the Berbicians on cricket contracts to train in Berbice under the supervision of a Guyana Cricket Board-appointed Level II coach. Delegates were very vocal that it was totally unfair for players to travel four days per week to Georgetown, as the monthly stipend for the Academy players are used up doing so. The usage of the Guyana Cricket Board Hostel should also be made available to the players, if the first suggestion is ignored.
The Albion Cricket Ground is the most ideal venue to conduct daily training, while Berbice has numerous gyms for the players to train. Coaches like Julian Moore, Michael Hyles, Albert Smith and Winston Smith are all Berbicians, and are available to supervise the players.
Delegates supported the call for the end of any discrimination against players who leave the Guyana Cricket Board Cricket Academy Programme. Players are of the view that they are being blacklisted when they cancel their contracts, and this should not be the case.
The BCB would support all players, as they have their financial status and families to consider when making decisions.
Delegates also supported the call for the hosting of inter-county matches in Berbice at the junior level. They were of the view that it was totally unfair for one team to have one hundred percentage home advantage when Berbice has venues like Albion, Blairmont, Rose Hall Canje or Skeldon to host such matches. Travelling to Blairmont is less than ninety minutes from the hostel, the same as travelling to venues over the Demerara River. With the Berbice Bridge in operation, there is no excuse for not bringing matches to the Ancient County.
BCB feels its players have the right to play games at home in front of their club mates, friends and families. They are confident that no sponsor would object to this, as Berbicians support their businesses and deserve to be treated equally.
Delegates supported the BCB policy of enforcing discipline at all levels, the wearing of the proper cricket attire at all matches, and the policy of focusing on Berbician players to play in BCB tournaments. Only one non-Berbician would be allowed to play in certain competitions, while none would be allowed at the Second Division level.
Delegates supported the motion that selection for the Guyana Cricket Board Franchise League must be properly done in a transparent way, with the setting up of Selection Committees for the West Berbice, New Amsterdam/Canje, Lower Corentyne and Upper Corentyne Franchise Leagues.
They were of the view that the selection policy left much to be desired, as one person was doing the job and was mostly biased to friends and club mates. The policy of selecting managers and coaches also needs to be looked into; it makes sure that the most qualified persons are selected.
The BCB intends to work hard to fulfill the mandate of its stakeholders.
