– Harper praises NBS for continued support to cricket
The eighth edition of the Georgetown Cricket Association’s (GCA’s) New Building Society (NBS) 40-Over Second Division competition was officially launched yesterday at the New Building Society’s premises at Avenue of the Republic in Georgetown.
GCA President, Roger Harper, receiving sponsorship cheque from NBS representative
This competition, to be played with coloured clothing and white balls, will involve 15 teams in the Georgetown area battling for supremacy in two zones (eight teams in Zone A and seven teams in Zone B).
At the simple ceremony that launched this tournament, GCA President Roger Harper praised the NBS and the sponsorship it provides for playing a significant role in the players’ development.
“Fifteen players who were involved in the 2018/19 edition of the NBS tournament represented Guyana at the various levels”, Harper disclosed.
Six of those players went on to represent the West Indies at youth level, namely: Joshua Persaud, Mavindra Dindyal, Ronaldo Ali-Mohamed, Sachin Singh, Ashmead Nedd and Raymond Perez, he added.
Harper declared that, without any doubt, this tournament has benefited the more than 170 GCA players involved. The Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) are the defending champions in this very competitive tournament, while Everest Cricket Club are the runners-up team.
According to Shawn Massiah, Chairman of the GCA Competitions Committee, the most a team may gather from a complete game is 20 points: 10 points are guaranteed for a win; five are guaranteed for scoring in excess of 200 runs, and five for taking all ten wickets in a match.
Teams in ‘Zone A’ are as follows: Muslim Youth Organisation (MYO), University of Guyana, Third Class, Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Diplomats, Gandhi Youth Organisation (GYO), Malteenoes, and the GCC. ‘Zone B’ teams are: Sophia, Police, Everest, Ace Warriors, Transport, Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) and GNIC.
The semifinals and final game of this tournament will be played under lights.
Massiah, who also thanked the NBS for their support, explained that this tournament has borne fruit with the likes of Guyana Amazon Warriors players Sherfane Rutherford and Chandrapaul Hemraj being its proud products. With cricket continuing its changes at the international stage, the GCA has taken the initiative to address free hit via front foot and waist height, and field-setting.
Massiah added that emphasis is being placed on fast bowlers in that 16 overs of fast-bowling must feature in each game.
The NBS has declared itself happy to support this tournament, and has promised to continue assisting in the development of players. That entity has further disclosed that it would be sponsoring another cricket tournament in Berbice, and is currently discussing with representatives of the BCB and the GCA the hosting of a T20 competition that would feature the top two Berbice teams and the top two Georgetown teams. That would be after completion of the 40-over competition.
The NBS has also officially recognised the sports journalist who has provided the best coverage for its 2018/19 season. Local journalist Romario Samaroo has received a special award in this regard. (Brandon Corlette)
