Senior Inter-county cricket to resume; 50-over final under lights at Albion

The Guyana Cricket Board has announced that it will resume the Senior Inter-county competition, which was replaced by a franchise-based tournament by the previous executive of the Board.

Importantly, the final will be played under lights at the Albion Community Centre in Berbice, the Board said in a press release on Saturday. The tournament will bowl off on October 9 and conclude on October 15.

See full press release below

The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) will host the Senior Inter-County tournament after an absence of over five years, from October 9, 2022, to October 15, 2022. The tournament was played annually for decades until the introduction of a local franchise league during the 2014/2015 season.

This league was conducted under the stewardship of the previous GCB executives, whose decision to abort the hosting of the Senior Inter-County Tournament was not accepted by most stakeholders, the majority of whom demanded the return of Senior Inter-County tournaments.

These included, but are not limited to several players, coaches, managers, cricket development officers, and administrators at the various levels of the domestic organisation cricket structure.

Consequently, the current executives of the GCB have incorporated this tournament into the GCB’s five-year strategic plan, with the Senior Inter-County matches being placed under the competition component of cricket development.

Though international players generally earn their spots on the respective national teams, availability and performances in coveted Inter-County tournaments have been promoted as the primary means for national selection.

Under the local franchise league, team composition and the operationalisation of the league deviated from the valuable county structure and inhibited many players from the opportunity to play on this platform.

The Senior Inter-County tournament at a moment in time was considered First-Class cricket and several stakeholders are of the view that the conduct of such a premiere tournament should remain part and parcel of the GCB’s core business objectives.

President Bissoondyal Singh pointed out that “the GCB can ill afford to play franchise leagues in place of the Inter-County tournaments. Both the Cricket Administration Act, 2014, and the constitution of the Guyana Cricket Board give the County Boards supremacy over other Cricket Associations, Committees, and potential legal franchises. As a result, the GCB holds the view that Senior Inter-County Cricket must be played annually regardless of the existence of additional tournaments which can be used to feed players into our coveted Inter-County tournament. It is against this backdrop that we have outlined in our five-year strategic plan the need to conduct Inter-County Championship tournaments for all levels of cricket where there are CWI Regional tournaments. Our aim at the GCB is to administer cricket in an impartial manner, giving opportunities to all those who participate in the game across the depth and breadth of Guyana. As the President of GCB, I am proud to announce that Senior Inter-County Cricket will return to our competition structure from October 9, 2022. I reiterate that Senior Inter-County cricket tournament is here to stay. It will be an annual feature and aspiring senior cricketers will have another avenue to showcase their skills and abilities with a view of donning national colours with pride.”

The final of the GCB One-Day 50-over tournament will be played at the Albion Community Centre ground under floodlights.