In his third Face the Clubs Meeting, Berbice Cricket Board President Hilbert Foster urged Cricket Clubs and Officials in the West Berbice Cricket Association to put their differences aside and adopt mature attitude to work as a collective unit for the development of the game.
BCB President Hilbert Foster and representatives of the Clubs
Foster was at the time addressing a meeting at the Berbice River Bridge Company Administrative Office as he continued his Berbice wide consultations with Cricket Clubs. Stating his only interest was the development of the game, the Berbice Cricket Board President stated that he has no interest in the politics of the game and he urged the attentive cricket leaders to work along with his administration to return Berbice Cricket to its rightful place.
Clubs at the meeting were Achievers, Blairmont, D’Edward, Cotton Tree, Bush Lot Rising Star, Bush Lot United and Paradise.
Foster provided the Club Officials with a comprehensive update on the tournaments to be played in 2018, at the Under-15, Under-17, Under-19, Under-21, Intermediate, Second Division, Female, First Division and Internal Zone levels. Plans for the Award Ceremony, Cricket Academy, Countywide Coaching Programme, Elite Training Programme were all unveiled as the Berbice Cricket Board President sought to get all Clubs to work together as a collective body in the Area. He praised the work of the West Berbice Cricket Association and its President David Black for the efforts they are making to promote the game. Special mention was made of the Shabeer Baksh sponsored Tapeball Competition for Primary Schools in Region 5 while he also announced plans for a Berbice wide Inter-Secondary School Knock-out Cricket Tournament. The West Berbice Board was also mandated to select sixty youths between the ages of 12 to 18 years to be a part of the historic Dr. Tulsi Dyal Singh Countywide Coaching Programme which would start in May, 2018, under the leadership of the Vice President Albert Smith.
Foster, told the gathering that he nor the Berbice Cricket Board has a monopoly on planning or ideas and as such he wanted to hear suggestions on the way forward. Representatives of the Clubs took advantage of the opportunities to discuss a range of important topics including the level of umpiring, debarred players, uniform for matches, assistance with gears and tournaments for teams in Berbice. President of the West Berbice Cricket Association expressed concerns over the hosting of several Berbice Cricket Board Tournaments in the area and the Berbice Cricket Board immediately mandated Black and his Sub-Association to organise all cricket in West Berbice in association with the Board’s Competition Committee. Foster in closing remarks stated that he intends to be a President for all Clubs in Berbice and under his leadership there shall be no place for malice, vindictive, selfish behaviour and corruption.
Representatives of the Clubs and West Berbice Cricket Association President David Black expressed gratitude to the Berbice Cricket Board President for taking the time to visit them and to update them on plans for the future.
