Jacobs boosts RHTY&SC/Bakewell Cricket Academy

…commits to restoration of Area H Grounda

The Minister within the Sport Ministry, Steven Jacobs, on Tuesday last visited the Area H Ground, which hosted the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC) Bakewell Cricket Academy, where he met the large group of youths and their coaches led by level-three coach Winston Smith. The Minister was officially welcomed at the academy by Rose Hall Town Clerk Natasha Griffith and RHTY&SC officials Hilbert Foster, Robby Kissoonlall, Jonathan Rampersaud, Eon Hooper and Clinton Pestano.
The former Guyana senior player, in remarks to the attentive academy youths, urged them to always be disciplined, as it is the foundation to a successful future on the cricket field. The youthful Government Minister also spoke on the importance of education and the need to also be fit, as cricket is a physically demanding sport. He advised the youths to listen to their coaches and to put into practice what they had learnt from them.

Minister Jacobs, who also played in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), called on the RHTY&SC youth players to follow in the footsteps of their clubmates like Assad Fudadin, Kevin Sinclair, Royston Crandon, Kelvon Anderson, Shemaine Campbelle, Shabika Gajanabi, Shenetta Grimmond and Erva Giddings, who have all played for the West Indies at the highest level. He stated that their success was based on a formula of hard work, personal discipline and dedication.
After his discussion with the academy class of 2026, Minister Jacobs handed over a large supply of sport gear to RHTY&SC Club captain Clinton Pestano. The donation included cricket bats, batting pads, helmets, cricket balls, batting gloves, volleyballs, basketballs and footballs. He also congratulated the coaches on their dedication to improving the cricketing skills of the youths at the academy and urged them to continue doing so in the future.
The Minister also had a visit around the Area H ground, accompanied by club officials and the town clerk. The Minister immediately agreed that the Sport Ministry would assist with the repair of the fencing around the venue and the upgrading of the outfield and also seek a roller for the ground that has produced 133 players for Berbice, 76 national players and thirteen at the international level.
Jacobs also promised that a regional engineer would visit the venue for assessment work on the way forward. RHTY&SC Cricket Manager Robby Kissoonlall expressed gratitude to Jacobs for his visit and for the support offered. The management of the club also handed over several copies of the RHTY&SC Youth Review booklet, which was recently launched.