Will senior inter-county competition resume in Guyana?

– Foster, Massiah, Christiani and Barry in agreement

By Brandon Corlette

The last time a senior 4-day inter-county cricket tournament was played in Guyana was in 2015 – quite a lifetime ago in cricketing terms. In August 2016, Cricket Guyana Inc. (CGI) implemented a semi-professional Jaguars’ Franchise League which comprised eight teams from sub-districts of counties, but the dominant Essequibo stood as one team.

With the new Bissoondyal Singh-led Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) administration in place, and with what is described as a new dawn in Guyana’s cricket, the return of the longer version of the senior inter-county looms.
GCB Vice-President Hilbert Foster, Secretary of the Essequibo Cricket Board Aotto Christiani; President of both the Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) and the Demerara Cricket Board (DCB), Marketing Manager Neil Barry Jr; and GCB’s Chairman of Competitions Committee, Shaun Massiah, are all in support of the return of this senior inter-county tournament.
“Personally, I favour the return of the inter-county, but, as Chairman of the Cricket Development Committee, I will have to discuss it among my peers, and then we take it to the executives to be approved.
“I agree with playing the franchise and then select the best possible inter-county teams, but it is a work in progress, and I am confident in it,” Foster revealed in a recent Sean Devers radio programme.
Foster also noted that his committee would include former national players and, before a decision is recommended to the executive, the players’ respective perspectives would be considered.
Meanwhile, Aotto Christiani also agreed with the return of the senior inter-county tournament, with matches being played in all three counties.
“Yes! For me, I do support the idea that we can have the inter-county. There is no way you can go against more cricket. The franchise has served its purpose in exposing a whole lot more players, but then, if you can have something else to be a direct feeder for first-class tournaments, I think it’s the best scenario. Something has to be between franchise and first-class cricket,” Christiani said.
Neil Barry, Jnr, said: “Of course I support the return of inter-county! An inter-county aids in preparation of the first-class players, and promotes ownership and representation; meaning players representing their county will understand what it is to represent their county fans.
“It’s important we get back to promoting that representation at the local level.”
Shaun Massiah, sharing his opinion, said he also would push for the return of the senior inter-county, even if it is a 3-day tournament.
“I want to see matches in Berbice, Essequibo and Demerara. For the inter-county and the franchise, I still believe we need to keep the first-division level strong. To me, the franchise takes away some of the first division status, and it is weakened, and I think that needs to be strengthen, and could feed to franchise and inter-county,” Massiah explained.
He is also in support of trials, and said that, given the funds and discussion with the GCB executives, all this is possible.
Despite the senior inter-county being absent, the Guyana Jaguars have won five Regional 4-Day championships in the last six years.