“I am delighted to be a part of the development of Berbice Cricket as I am very impressed by the direction it is heading and because I fully understand the importance of giving back to the county where it all started.”
Those were the words of Guyana and West Indies batsman Shimron Hetmyer to President of the Berbice Cricket Board, Hilbert Foster, as he continued his investment into the development of Berbice Cricket.
The 24-year-old middle-order batsman, to the surprise of the President of the board, handed over a combined G$200,000 for the hosting of two one-day grassroot cricket tournaments at the Rose Hall Canje and Young Warriors Grounds.
The BCB, under Foster’s leadership, has set itself the hosting of at least 10 such tournaments as part of its effort to renew the passion of clubs after an almost one year break due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The tournaments would be played without spectators as the board observes the COVID-19 guidelines issued by the National COVID-19 Task Force.
Foster stated that the BCB is seeking to assist some clubs to attract younger players to their membership, to inspire them to be more proactive and also to give them an opportunity to win a BCB Tournament.
Most of the tournaments in the county are won by the dominant RHTY&SC and Albion and this has affected the morale of some clubs as they find it very difficult to compete against the more organised clubs.
They would also be in a position to take home very vital prize money, Foster indicated.
The BCB has already raised funds for tournaments at the following venues- Bush Lot Farm, Whim, Port Mourant, Fyrish, Chesney, Number 19 Kendall Union, Young Warriors, Rose Hall Canje, Edinburg and Bush Lot Village, West Coast Berbice.
Among the sponsors to join hands with the board are brothers Mahendra and Vishal Nagamootoo, Troy Halley and Narsingh Deonarine.
The tournaments at Canje and Young Warriors would see three teams playing for the Shimron Hetmyer Challenge Cup and a cash prize.
Hetmyer also announced that he would be renewing his sponsorship of the BCB Intermediate tournament, which he had sponsored in 2019.The tournament was not played in 2020 due to the ongoing pandemic.
The sponsorship for that tournament would be G$300,000 and clubs would be allowed a maximum of four first division players per match. Foster and Hetmyer also discussed other areas of cooperation and more announcements are expected shortly.
The BCB President handed over a collection of publications from the board and RHTY&SC to Hetmyer and also presented a special award.
The powerfully-built player was unable to attend the Brian Ramphal Award Ceremony in December, of which he was an awardee.
Fellow national players Veerasammy Permaul, Anthony Bramble, Nial Smith, Romario Shepherd, Kevin Sinclair and former Test player Clayton Lambert were also honoured for their contribution to cricket.
Foster expressed gratitude to Hetmyer for his support of the administration and Berbice cricket. He noted that the board has named 2021 the ‘Year of Investment’ and it was very pleasing to observe the massive outpouring of support from former and current players.
