RHTY&SC donates to young cricketers and Corriverton Links Football Club
Basil Butcher 87th birthday celebrations…
Legendary West Indies test cricketer Basil Butcher, AA, who died in the United States of America last December, was on Wednesday, September 3, remembered by the ten cricket teams of the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC).
Some RHTY&SC members pose after the presentation of gear for Mr. Butcher’s 87th birthday celebration
Butcher would have celebrated his 87th birthday if he were alive, and in his memory, the teams handed over a quantity of cricket gear, educational materials and football items to members of the RHTY&SC and the Corriverton Links Football Club.
Butcher had been an honorary member of the RHTY&SC, and had worked along with the club to assist dozens of youths with cricket gear during his lifetime. Butcher represented the West Indies in forty-four Test matches, scoring 3104 runs at an average of 43.11. He was remembered by Club Secretary/CEO Hilbert Foster as a dedicated and humble man despite walking among proverbial kings and queens.
Butcher had been quite passionate about giving youths the opportunity to fulfill their potential, because he felt that poverty should not affect God-given talent.
The club handed over cricket gear and educational materials to several of its members as part of the Butcher birthday celebration. The cricket gear included batting pads, batting gloves, helmets, wicket-keeping pads and gloves. Several members carried home a complete educational package that included a school bag, exercise books, pens, pencils, rulers and calculators, among other items.
RHTY&SC Asst Secretary/CEO Simon Naidu has encouraged club members to cherish the donated items, and to follow in the footsteps of the legendary Butcher, who rose from a humble background to become one of the greatest ever Test batsmen produced by Berbice and Guyana.
Naidu said the Club had partnered with the Berbice Cricket Board to host the Basil Butcher Trust Fund. Under the fund, over four million dollars’ worth of items, including cricket gear, educational materials, cleaning detergents, footwear, clocks, bicycles, clothing, household items, utensils, stationery, electric fans and food hampers, have been shared out.
Naidu also disclosed that the club would very shortly be handing over cricket gear to ten youths in Linden, while two students would be getting bicycles to assist them to attend school regularly.
