– Foster unveils assistance programme for Berbice umpires
Imran Moakan was last Sunday elected President of the Berbice Cricket Umpires Association (BCUA) when that very active association held its biennial elections at the head office of the Berbice Cricket Board.
Moakan replaces long serving President Joseph Simon, who died recently after serving for close to eight years.
Moakan is the youngest son of former President Roshan Moakan, who himself died in 2014 after decades of service to the ‘Ancient County’.
President of the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB), Hilbert Foster, served as the returning officer for the elections at the invitation of the association.
Others elected to serve were Vice President Shawn Coojah, Secretary Moses Ramphal, Treasurer Ingram Johnson, and Assistant Secretary/ Treasurer Muntaz Alli.
Those elected to serve as Committee members were Ameer Rahaman, Abbas Hussain and Martin Johnson.
Speaking to the members of the association, Moakan said he expects full cooperation from each one of them, and committed himself to leading by example. Noting that Berbice cricket is on the rise, he urged his colleagues to play their part to maintain the high standard.
The newly elected President also congratulated Foster on his outstanding leadership of the county’s cricket and for making sure that every stakeholder had a place at the table.
In remarks after the swearing of the new executives, Foster said the BCUA and BCB have enjoyed a close and very cordial relationship under his leadership, as he strongly believes in building bridges. Working together with a common objective is the key to achieving success, and Foster committed to working along with the Umpire’s Association to improve the standard of umpiring in the future.
Meanwhile, he announced a development fund of one hundred thousand dollars for the BCUA from his cricket board, which would be used for the training of umpires and the daily operation of the association.
BCB President Hilbert Foster posing with the new executives of the BCUA after the elections
The BCB President also committed to assisting the umpires with 20 umpiring t-shirts and caps, while the BCB would also establish a Hall of Fame to honour outstanding umpires from the county. The Hall of Fame is scheduled to be launched on Sunday, September 11th, in the BCB’s Charlotte Street, New Amsterdam office.
As such, the BCUA has submitted the following names to be the first inductees- Rohan Chandan, Roshan Moakan, Joseph Simon, D Somwaru, Rafeek Latiff and Jaipersaud Hardeo. Hardeo, Simon and Moakan are all deceased, but served as umpires for decades; while Somwaru, who once served as President of the Guyana Umpires Council, is the only Berbician to have stood in a first-class game, and also served at the international level.
Chandan was the founding President of the BCUA, while Latiff served as a standby umpire at several first- class matches and as a respected umpire for decades.
The BCB committed to assisting the BCUA with attracting new members and acquiring sponsorship for a proposed Day of Fun, which would include a 20/20 cricket match against their Demerara counterparts, besides a domino tournament.
In addition, the BCB would sponsor an Umpire of the Year Award at the cost of $25,000, and provide a Christmas hamper for every Berbice umpire.
