By Avenash Ramzan
As the sun set at Providence on a calm Friday afternoon, Kevin Sinclair sported a smile as broad as the Berbice river. He breathed a sigh of relief when left-hander Leon Swamy struck a boundary off Andre Seepersaud to seal victory against the Select Under-17s.
It wasn’t just another win. It was a special one for him. And although he was not out in the middle to hit it, that boundary was probably the most important and enjoyable of Sinclair’s fledging career.
The stroke off the bat of Swamy ensured Berbice made a clean sweep of the Guyana Cricket Board/Hand-In-Hand Mutual Fire and Life Insurance Companies’ Under-19 Inter-county titles, comfortably winning both the Three-day and 50-over trophies.
Sinclair’s arms immediately went up in the air as the umpire signalled ‘four’ and a clap followed. It was the type of celebration that said ‘Yes, I did it.’
Entrusted with leading the Ancient County in the tournament, Sinclair repaid the selectors and the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) for the faith and confidence they entrusted in him, in the best possible way, lifting both trophies and further enhancing his leadership credentials, which was spotted from an early age.
“I feel great. It was a wonderful performance by the team,” Sinclair told News Room after the win.
“Although my performance this year wasn’t up to standard, winning the double is a big, big achievement for me this year. It is my last year at Under-19, so being the successful captain of the One-day and the Three-day is a big step for me moving forward in my career also. Well played to the team.”
A product of the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club, Sinclair said Berbice prevailed over the other teams- Demerara, Essequibo and the Select Under-17s- by diligently executing their plans that were discussed behind closed doors.
Reflecting on key moments during the successful campaign, Sinclair said Alex Algoo’s hundred, Junior Sinclair’s fifty, Kevin Anderson’s five-wicket haul and Kelvin Umroa’s seven wickets against Demerara were crucial performances.
BCB not surprised
Meanwhile, the BCB issued a congratulatory message to the players on Saturday, noting that it is not surprised by the performance of the team. Below is the full text of the message.
“The President and Executives of the Berbice Cricket Board would to offer profound congratulations to the management and members of our Under-19 team for bringing home both the Under-19, 50-over and Three-day titles in the Hand-In-Hand cricket tournament.
The entire team has made us proud to be Berbicians and has kept alive the legacy of our forefathers, who laid the foundation for the present generation to build on.
The BCB is not surprised at this success as we invested heavily into the preparation of this team and also the entire team was selected on merit.
We are confident that Berbice would continue to dominate cricket in Guyana as the board would work along with all stakeholders to make sure that every potential in Berbice is fulfilled and that the game of cricket is played at all levels across the length of our great county.
We are about to embark on a massive developmental coaching project that would ensure that Berbice remains champions at all form of the game.
The BCB would also like to extend thanks Hand-In-Hand for its sponsorship of the tournament. Your investment is appreciated by all of us in Berbice.
It is our hope that your company would continue to expand in the future. It is our hope that in 2019 matches would be played in Berbice ,where the company enjoys great support, so that our boys would enjoy the joy of playing in front of their parents and family.
The BCB would like to congratulate Bhaskar Yadram on his triple century during the tournament. Scoring 300 runs in a single innings is no mean feat and we would like to encourage Yadram to keep aiming for the highest standard.
The BCB also salutes the management team of Neil Rudder and Andre Percival on a job well done .The entire squad would shortly be honoured by us in a special way as champions.”
Read about the final here:
LINK: http://newsroom.gy/2018/05/04/double-success-for-berbice-in-u-19-inter-county/
