BCB to benefit from $1.08M sponsorship from Tenelec Inc

— for Under 15 and First Division tournaments

Cricket in the Ancient County of Berbice continues to attract investments and sponsorship as the proactive Berbice Cricket Broad continues to work hard to prepare for a possible restart of tournaments later in the year or early next year.
The BCB, on Tuesday last, successfully completed discussions with the management of overseas-based company Tenelec Inc of the United States of America for a million dollars’ sponsorship of two major cricket tournaments for the 2022 season.
BCB President Hilbert Foster, who has, over the last three and half years, spearheaded a comprehensive marketing drive for the board, successfully completed discussions with co-owners of the company, Bobby Deonarine and Tom Gruentzel, for the sponsorship.
The sponsorship will cover the cost of an under 15 and senior first division 50 overs tournament. Foster has said the under 15 tournaments will be for players born on or after the 1st of September, 2007. A total of twenty-three teams is expected to play in the tournament, which will be used to select the Berbice inter-county team and identify promising players for the future.
Those players will then be part of the BCB coaching programme which would be expanded in the new year. Among the teams expected to play are Paradise, Bush Lot United, Achievers, Cotton Tree, Bath, Blairmont, Tucber Park, Rose Hall Canje, Kendall’s Union, Edinburgh, Mt Sinai, Albion, RHT Farfan and Mendes, Port Mourant, No 73, Cut and Load, and Rama Krishna.

The first division tournament will be one of at least four to be organised by the BCB in 2022. Foster disclosed that the Tenelec Inc 50 overs tournament would be played using the 50 overs knockout format among the eleven first division teams. The teams that will participate in the tournament are West Berbice, Blairmont, Police, Tucber Park, Rose Hall Canje, Young Warrior, Albion, RHT Namilco Thunderbolt Flour, Port Mourant, Skeldon and Upper Corentyne.
Foster explained that the overseas-based company had sponsored the tournaments for over a decade up to 2016, but left in frustration in 2017 when their tournament was not organised despite handing over sponsorship. Confidence was restored in the operation of the BCB when Foster and his executives were elected into office in February 2018.
Deonarine, who is the uncle of West Indies Test player Narsingh Deonarine, expressed confidence in the current administration and said he is delighted to be on board again. The Tenelec tournaments have a rich tradition in the history of Berbice Cricket, and played a great part in the development of players like Narsingh Deonarine, Devendra Bishoo, Veersammy Permaul, Assad Fudadin, Royston Crandon Romario Shepherd, Nial Smith, Kelvon Anderson, Kevin Sinclair and Sewnarine Chattergoon among others.