Culture, Youth and Sport Minister Charles Ramson Jr
With the overall aim to allow local players to showcase their talents, the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB), under the patronage of President Dr Irfaan Ali, launched the National T20 League on Thursday at the Marriott Hotel, Kingston.
The tournament, which is slated to push off on Saturday, October 26 at the La Bonne Intention (LBI) Ground, East Coast Demerara, will see the participation of 90 players across six teams, including Berbice Caimans, Demerara Hawks, Essequibo Jaguars, Berbice Piranhas, and Demerara Pitbulls.
Speaking at the launch, Culture, Youth and Sport Minister Charles Ramson Jr divulged the vision of the tournament.
The Minister said, “A tournament that is going to be a feature for our cricket calendar as we focus our energies, our investment, our dedication, and our ideas towards the development of a sport that is more than a sport, and it’s more than a culture, it’s a way of life for us too. Every single person who is sitting in this chair, you’ve built a life around this team. Whether it’s as a player, as a coach, or as a management, including cricket administration, and even the cameraman who has a flick through the wicket, or if it’s the media, every single area of our life in Guyana, it touches cricket in some kind of way. Every single person who participates in this tournament, every single person who watches this tournament, it’s a demonstration of who we are as a people.”
Myhiem Khan, the National U19 player to feature on Essequibo Jaguars
Minister Ramson went on to speak on Guyana’s growth in local talent which will raise the West Indies back to supremacy.
“Thankfully, in the last maybe seven years or so, at least in the last three years, I would say Guyana cricket has started to find its way where it is showing that it is now the most potentially dominant territory in the entire West Indies. And then as part of the movement in the West Indies in the last maybe seven years or so, we’ve also been able to show that there are enough examples for us to continue our rise where we can get to the place where we believe we deserve to be, and that’s at the top,” Ramson Jr said.
Meanwhile, GCB President Bissoondyal Singh emphasised the aim of the tournament was to create future stars.
The GCB boss related, “I am confident that this monumental National T20 League will serve as the catalyst for exposing new talent especially as players are selected from throughout Guyana. Six franchise teams, each consisting of 15 players, a manager and a coach, will be involved in playing 18 preliminary matches leading up to the grand final. Essentially, this is more than a cricket tournament since it creates a platform designed to identify the future stars of Guyana’s cricket. This first-ever official GCB T20 League aligns perfectly with Guyana’s strong foundation in cricket development and will contribute to the popular notion that Guyana is indeed a cricket powerhouse.”
Action in the National T20 League will get underway at the LBI Ground with Essequibo Jaguars and Demerara Hawks battling for supremacy at 14:00h while at 19:00h, Demerara Pitbulls will take on Berbice Caimans.
