BCB secures sponsorship for 3 inter- zone U-19 knockout tournaments

— Region 6 REO praised for support of Berbice cricket

The Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) as part of its ongoing efforts to invest heavily in youth development has agreed to host four inter-zone Under-19 knockout cricket tournaments across Berbice. The zones would be Upper Corentyne (including Black Bush Polder}, Central/Lower Corentyne, New Amsterdam/Canje/East Bank and West Berbice.

The Under-19 tournaments would be one of three tournaments that would be played in each of the sub-zones as part of an aggressive cricket development programme.
On Thursday last, the President of the vibrant BCB, Hilbert Foster received sponsorship from two sponsors for the Upper Corentyne and New Amsterdam/East Bank Berbice tournaments while an overseas-based Guyanese has committed to sponsoring another in June for teams in the Lower Corentyne area. Contractor Tevindra Jagdeo of Premium Asphalt Inc would be sponsoring the New Amsterdam/Canje/East Bank Berbice tournament.
Among the teams expected to play in that tournament would be Kendall’s Union, Rose Hall Canje, Tucber Park, Mt Sinai, Guymine, Edinburgh and East Bank Blazers. The matches would be played at the Canje, Edinburgh and Kendall’s Union venues, with the final set for the Edinburgh Ground.
Contractor Mohamed Ahmad of Mohamed Ahmad Construction Ltd is the sponsor for the Upper Corentyne leg of the tournaments. Teams to play would include No 73, Scottsburg, Skeldon and Radha Krishna Academy. Meanwhile, overseas-based Guyanese Ricky Itwaru has agreed to sponsor the Lower Corentyne tournament, which would be played in June at the Albion Sports Complex.
The teams to play in the tournament would be Albion, Rose Hall Town Pepsi, and Port Mourant. Itwaru, a certified special needs teacher based in the United States, stated that he was very impressed by the development of Berbice cricket and that was the main reason why he contacted the BCB to sponsor the tournament. The BCB is currently on the verge of clinching the fourth sponsorship for the West Berbice sub-association and an announcement would be made shortly.
Foster, who is spearheading the BCB marketing effort, disclosed that the Board has in one month obtained sponsorship for 24 tournaments and the four internal zone tournaments would be followed by a countywide Under-19 50 overs which would be sponsored by the New York Business Group. The main aims of the four internal zone tournaments would be to encourage youth players to join clubs in their areas, to identify promising players for the BCB Elite Coaching programme and to allow different clubs across Berbice to win BCB titles.

Foster hailed the cooperation of Region Six Regional Executive Officer (REO) Navindra Persaud, who he hailed as a true friend of cricket development. Persaud played a major role in obtaining the sponsorship for the proactive Board. Foster also expressed thanks to Jagdeo, Itwaru, Ahmad, and Uborn France for their support.