Kemol Savory, Kumarie Persaud shine at Essequibo Cricket Board Award Ceremony

It was indeed a memorable night for cricketers of the county as the Essequibo Cricket Board hosted a dinner and award ceremony on Friday evening at the Anna Regin Town Council.

The award ceremony was hosted after a three-year hiatus and saw both female and male cricketers copping plaques, trophies, and medals.

The Senior Male Cricketer-of-the-Year is wicketkeeper/batsman Kemol Savory, while the Junior awardee is Bruce Vincent.

The Senior Female Cricketer-of-the-Year is Kumarie Persaud of Three Friends Village, while the Junior Female Cricketer is Cyanne Retimiah.

Savory was also named Player-of-the-Year, while the Emerging Player-of-the-Year went to Garfield Phillips.

Other cricketers were also honoured for their outstanding performances during the period under consideration.

Ravid Fredricks, Ethan Silas and Darrius Pearson emerged as the most outstanding performers at the U-13 level, while Zandon Rose and Nicholas Lovelle did well for the Under-15 level.

Gowkarran Chullai received the award for the U-17 category. Bruce Vincent received award for outstanding performances at the Under-17 and Under-19 levels.

Cyanne Retimiah and Lavina Ragobeer were rewarded for being the top female cricketers at the Under-19 level, Kumarie Persaud received the award for the senior level.

Meanwhile, senior national players Quintin Sampson, Ronsford Beaton, Anthony Adams, Kemol Savory and Keemo Paul were awarded for their outstanding performances at the senior level.

Coaches Courtney Gonsalves and Forbes Daniels were recognised for their contributions to cricket development, while
Ryan Hercules was recognised for his Level Three qualification and for becoming Head Coach of the senior national team.

Jeff Jones received an award for being the first Essequibian player to score a century in Senior Inter-County cricket, while Elbert Stephens was awarded for being the first Essequibian player to obtain a five-wicket haul in a final against Berbice played at Hampton Court.

Dasroy Balgobin was recognised for being the first national umpire from Essequibo.

Cricket alive in Essequibo

President of the Essequibo Cricket Board (ECB) Deleep Singh said that the members of the ECB organised the award ceremony and dinner to show their appreciation to individuals, past and present, who have contributed significantly to the development of cricket in the county of Essequibo.

Singh said the cricket administration in Essequibo was and is always a challenge.

He said the ECB spans Bartica to the Pomeroon River and in 2022 expanded the scope through the Pomeroon Cricket Committee into four Amerindian communities, namely Moruca, Wakapou, Kabacaburi and Karawab in the Upper Pomeroon.

The President said that an amendment was made to the constitution to have representatives from every
committee on the board and selectors committee.

“Coupled with these challenges, having took office on the 9th of January 2022, it wasn’t smooth sailing for the ECB, having received almost nothing, just scars of mismanagement, notably the ECB Hostel and an empty bank account from the previous board,” Singh said.

He said despite those challenges, the ECB surged ahead, fast-tracking its programmes to meet the Inter-county tournament deadline, set by the parent body Guyana Cricket Board (GCB).

Projections

Singh outlined that the ECB has earmarked key areas of development in order to better equip players to perform.

More grounds, he said, will be upgraded through the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sport.

The ECB is also looking to construct indoor training facilities in all area committees to enhance player development.

“We’re also hoping the Hostel rehabilitation will be completed early next year for us to establish our office, accommodation and training areas, which will off course contribute immensely to our cricket training programme. The GCB has already made a decision to purchase a 30-seater bus for the ECB,” Singh announced.

He also highlighted that boats to allow for ease of travel for players both along the Pomeroon and Essequibo Rivers will be looked at in 2023.

Singh added that training and encampment programmes will be intensified, noting that there will be an additional 21 coaches, including three females completing their Level One programme.

Meanwhile, Minister of Culture Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr., congratulated the players on their awards and thanked them for their contributions to the game.

He urged the players to continue to practice and remain fit.

“We have started the three stadiums (across the country). In fact, it is quite likely we would be able to complete five stadiums of which three will be specifically for cricket. We are investing in cricket. We are upgrading the community grounds,” Minister Ramson told the gathering.

He said that the Ministry is anticipating the completion of the cricket academy facility at Providence in February 2023, and there are plans to have one constructed in each county.

“The cricket facility has a unique design- we are putting a transparent roof over the clay pitches, so net sessions will be able to run 365 days (a year),” Minister Ramson announced

He said that the Ministry will continue to work with the GCB so that the relationship and collaboration will continue.

Awardees react

Meanwhile, the awardees were very satisfied with the ceremony making a return.

Kumarie Persaud said that she is honoured to receive the accolades and gave her commitment to assisting other female cricketers in the county and beyond.

Savory also said that he is honoured and looks forward to playing more cricket games in the region.