Minister Mustapha fulfils promises to BCB

– hands over funds for scholarship and cricket tournaments

One month ago, Region Six Member of Parliament and Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha met with the executives of the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) at the Fyrish Primary School during one of his outreaches in Berbice.
The Minister, a Berbician, had committed to playing a major role in the development of Berbice Cricket and the two delegations discussed a wide range of plans.

On Thursday last, the Minister started to fulfil his commitments to the Board by handing over two cheques, valued at $500,000 combined for a University of Guyana educational scholarship and the hosting of an Under 15 cricket tournament for clubs in the Ancient County.
BCB President Hilbert Foster, who accepted the two cheques in the presence of Public Relations Officer Simon Naidu, stated that the one-year educational scholarship was awarded to Naeem Khan of the Albion Cricket Club. The seventeen-year-old all-rounder, who bowls off-spin, attended the New Amsterdam Multilateral School and obtained ten subjects at the CSEC examinations. He has been accepted at the Tain branch of the University of Guyana to study for a Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture.
Khan is the son of former Berbice all-rounder Zamal Khan and also plays part-time for his home village of Chesney.
The Ministry of Agriculture’s Under-15 tournament will bowl off the BCB 2021 cricket season and will be played on a round-robin 50-over per side basis. About eighteen teams drawn from across Berbice are expected to participate in the tournament, which would be used to select the Berbice inter-county team. Among the teams expected to participate are No 73, Scottsburg, Port Mourant, Rose Hall Town Farfan and Mendes, Albion Community Centre, No 19 Kendall’s Union, RH Canje, Mt Sinai, Edinburgh, East Bank Blazers, Blairmont, Achievers, Bush Lot United and Bush Lot All-Stars.
Foster stated that the tournament would be very important for the BCB because, after the enforcement stoppage of over nine months, the Board was uncertain of the current status of many of the players. The date of birth cutoff date would be September 1, 2006, and players are expected to be attending school if they desire to play in the tournament.
The BCB President announced that 2021 will see a very active calendar for the Board with the hosting of thirty cricket tournaments at the Under 13, Under 15, Under 17, Under 19, Under 21, Female, Internal Zone, Intermediate, Second Division, Double Wickets and First Division levels. Additionally, special emphasis will be placed on expanding the coaching programmes of the BCB and providing assistance to clubs and less fortunate cricketers. Foster expects the BCB assistance programme to players and cricketers to exceed over $3 million in 2021.
The BCB President extended gratitude to Minister Mustapha and Permanent Secretary Nedd for their cooperation. He pledged that the tournament would be well organised while the BCB would monitor the performance of Naeem Khan to make sure that he upholds his required standards.