ꟷ for joining BCB pantheon of international cricketers
Berbice has produced numerous players who have represented the Caribbean at the Under-15 and Under-19 levels, and have played in ‘A’ and ‘B’ teams, ODI and 20/20 teams, and in Test and female cricket teams.
Shabika Gajnabi
This has been the case since 1948, when John Trim of the Port Mourant Cricket Club became the first Berbician to play Test Cricket.
This rich tradition continued during September 2019, when Sheneta Grimmond and Shabika Gajnabi, a duo of the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club, MS, made their international debut for the West Indies against Australia in the One Day International and 20/20 series.
During its 80th Anniversary Celebrations, the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) surprised this duo by honouring them for being the sixth and seventh female Berbician players to play international cricket.
Nineteen-year-old Gajnabi has been playing cricket for close to a decade, having been taught the game at a very young age by her brother, who had utilised the Chesney Ground located just in front of her home to so do. She later joined the only female cricket team in Guyana — at the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club, MS — and developed her skill under the guidance of senior players Shemaine Campbelle and Erva Giddings.
Sheneta Grimmond
Gajnabi bowls right-hand medium-pace, and is a solid middle order batter, having captained Berbice and Guyana at the Under-19 level.
Grimmond, who bowls off-spin and is a hard-hitting batter, played for her school, Central Corentyne Secondary School, before joining the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club, MS. Like Gajnabi, she learnt the intricacies of the game by playing with her male counterparts at the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club, MS, and by benefiting from impartations of the vast experience of Campbelle and Giddings.
BCB President Alex Foster has congratulated the pair on their making their international debut, noting in his congratulations that the entire county is very proud of them.
Foster, also Secretary/CEO of the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club, MS, has said that the county’s investment in female cricket has been a huge success. He informed that Candacy Atkins was the first female to play for the West Indies; while Shemaine Campbelle, Tremayne Smartt, Erva Giddings, Subrina Munroe, Shabika Gajnabi and Sheneta Grimmond have followed in her footsteps.
Foster has urged these players to remain focused and humble, and to work harder every day to further improve their skills.
He warned them that sometimes making the team is easier than reserving a place in the team, which he said is more difficult as performance is what then counts. He has, however, committed the BCB to assisting every female cricketer to fulfil her full potential on and off the cricket field.
Earlier in the proceedings, the BCB had handed over cricket gear to two Under-13 female players, Tricia Hardat and Darshie Subramanie. These debutants also each received a framed certificate, medals, trophies, souvenir anniversary cups and prizes.
