RL Contracting CEO, Rondhall Lewis, handing over sponsorship to BCB President Hilbert Foster
The Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) has predicted that its 2023 cricket season on the field would be the best in its eighty-three-year history, with tournaments planned at the U11, U13, U15, U17, U19, U21, U23, female, primary school, secondary school, intermediate, internal zones, and first and second division levels.
The Board on Tuesday unveiled the sponsor of the 2023 under-15 inter-club tournament, with contractor Rondhall Lewis of RL Contracting coming on board.
BCB President Hilbert Foster has hailed the launching of this sponsorship as another red letter day in the remarkable progress taking place in county cricket.
The under-15 tournament would involve players born on or after September 1, 2008, and about eighteen teams are expected to participate. The teams would be divided into four zones, and play would be round robin, with the top two teams from each zone advancing to the quarterfinals.
The BCB Selection Committee, headed by Balram Samaroo, would use the tournament to not only select the inter-county under-15 team, but to identify promising players for the BCB coaching programmes.
Among the clubs expected to participate are Rose Hall Farfan and Mendes, Albion, Port Mourant, Rose Hall Canje, Cotton Tree, Tucber Park, Mt Sinai, Achievers and Bush Lot United.
Foster, who is spearheading a massive BCB marketing campaign, disclosed that over eighty percentage of the planned tournaments have already received sponsorships or commitments. He is expressing gratitude to Mr Lewis for his support, and has reassured the sponsor that the tournament would be a success.
The BCB President, who is in the final year of his third term since his election in 2018, has said the highlight of 2023 would be the return of cricket in schools at both the primary and secondary levels; an expansion of the countywide coaching programme; an overseas tour by a Berbice under-21 team; acquisition of several vital pieces of equipment, such as bowling machines; and the introduction of two-day cricket at the junior level.
Lewis, in brief remarks, expressed his delight at being able to play a part in the development of young talents in the county, and hailed current development in the county cricket. He expressed confidence that several future stars for the county would emerge from the tournament, and that the legacies of Rohan Kanhai, Basil Butcher, Alvin Kallicharran and Roy Fredricks would continue to shine.
