The five Guyanese female blind cricketers performed exceptionally well in the recently concluded bilateral blind cricket series that was played between the West Indies and the English female blind cricket teams in Barbados.
“The Guyanese were the backbone of the West Indies team and they performed beyond expectation throughout the series,” the Guyana Blind Cricket Association said in a press statement.
The blind cricketers played five T20 matches over a five-day period following three days of intense training guided by the coaches from England and the West Indies management team.
The training sessions were conducted to facilitate the gelling of the team and for the English to impart knowledge and skills to the West Indies females; most of whom were new to the sport of blind cricket.
The Guyanese were Crystal Aulder; Rosemarie Ramitt (B1); Melieka Crawford (B2); Robecka Edinboro (B3) and Ackila Smith (B2).
Aulder was given the task of captaining the West Indies team, which she did with distinction since she was the leading run-scorer for the series with 154 runs and top score of 53. It was the only fifty in the series.
Aulder also had three not outs, opening the batting for the West Indies team in all five innnings. She was named player-of-the-match and received a plaque for her fifty.
Robecka Edinboro, who was named the best B3 of the series and received a plaque, made a total of 112 runs with a top score of 36. She opened the batting with Aulder. In addition to her batting success, she had two wickets and effected seven run outs. She also was one of the best fielders in the series.
Melieka Crawford was the wicket keeper for the West Indies team and did a good job behind the stumps although it was her first time keeping wicket. She also made some useful contributions with the bat when she was required to do so.
Ackila Smith, who did not get an opportunity to bat in any of the games, did an exceptional job being the runner for the other batters (B1) and some B2’s, who required runners. She was also exceptional in the field having a few run outs and saving a lot of runs for her team.
Rosemarie Ramitt, the only B1 from Guyana was the main B1 batter for her team, and was part of some useful partnerships with her captain. She also bowled well in the five games.
The West Indies team won one out of their fivee games. In the game the West Indies team won, they batted first and made 148 with the top scorer being Aulder. The English team was bowled out for 132.
“In the other four games, the West Indies team performed very well although they did not win the games. The commitment and passion was evident in all the West Indies players,” the statement added.
It added, “It must be highlighted that this was a learning experience for the female blind cricketers and would only assist in growing the sport amongst the females with vision disabilities both in Guyana and the region. The English female blind cricket team has been playing for a number of years and for most of the West Indies females it was their first exposure to blind cricket.
The Guyanese girls had very intense training at the National Stadium prior to travelling to Barbados under the supervision of captain and vice-captain of the Guyana senior team, Mr. Kevin Douglas and Mr. Ganesh Singh respectively, both of whom are West Indies senior players.”
The Guyana Blind Cricket Association wishes to express its sincerest gratitude and deepest appreciation to the following individuals and entities who made it possible for the females to travel to Barbados and participate in the series through their kind contributions:
His Excellency President David Granger; Mr. Christopher Jones and the National Sports Commission; Ms. Shelly Bhagwandin and her team at the United Women for Special Children (UWSC); the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB); P&P Insurance Brokers; Mr. Komal Singh and his team at Gico Construction Inc.; Noble House Seafoods; Goodwood Racing Services; Mr. Anthony Xavier and his team at the National Stadium; Mr. Avenash Ramzan; Mr. Sean Devers and Ms. Vidya Ramnarine from the media fraternity.
