Dasrat, Nandu, Ashiek Motor Spares among latest set of donors to BCB Year of Investment

The Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) continues to benefit from the assistance of former national players who are based overseas, along with several passionate supporters of Berbice cricket.

The BCB in the first two weeks of 2021 has attracted close to $7 million worth of support in the form of financial sponsorship and necessary items.
The main feature of the successful marketing drive has been the massive support the BCB has obtained from former and current players, including Clayton Lambert, Ray Joseph, Leslaine Lambert, Kevin Darlington, Kevin Sinclair, Romario Shepherd, Shimron Hetmyer, Mahendra Nagamootoo, Vishal Nagamootoo, Narsingh Deonarine, Hemnarine Chattergoon, Jeremy Gordon, and Troy Halley.
The latest former players to come on board are former National Captain Damodar Dasrat; former West Indies Under-19 all-rounder Arjune Nandu; former Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC) player Mankarran Singh and businessman Ray Ali of Ashiek and Son Motor Spares. Nandu, a former member of the historic Port Mourant Cricket Club, donated $80,00 towards the hosting of a one-day, four-team tournament at the Port Mourant Ground. Nandu, who played for Guyana at the junior and senior level, also represented the West Indies at the Under-19 level.
Port Mourant, UG Elites Tain Block Four and Tamarind Root will play each other for the Arjune Nandu Challenge Cup.
Singh, the former RHTY&SC and Port Mourant opener, is also on board with sponsorship for a one-day, four-team tournament at the Kennard Memorial Ground. The winner of the tournament will carry home a financial prize and the Mankarran Singh Trophy. The four competing teams are Ramnarine Memorial, Kildonan, No 43 and Kennard Memorial. Both Nandu and Singh stated that they were delighted to support Berbice cricket as it was on the move.
For his part, former National Captain Dasrat positively responded to a request from BCB President Hilbert Foster for a donation of a laptop. The laptop will be used by Public Relations Officer Simon Naidu to issue press releases and assist in the publications of magazines, educational materials, etc. Dasrat, a former Berbice Captain who had the distinction of dismissing Indian batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar during his career, was a useful medium pacer and solid middle-order batsman. He now resides in Canada, and stated that he was delighted to give back to the BCB as it had played a major role in his development as a cricketer.
Meanwhile, Ali, the proprietor of Ashiek Motor Spares of No 2 Village, Canje, donated $50,000 towards obtaining inter-county caps for the Berbice Under-15, Under-17, Under-19 and female cricket teams. The BCB, in 2008 under the presidency of Keith Foster, introduced the Berbice Cap System, which continues to date. Ali, a former executive of the Young Warriors Cricket Club, stated that he was a keen follower of Berbice cricket and always wanted to come on board as a sponsor. The Berbice Cap System, he noted, was a good way of making sure that players have memories of being a Berbice player.