Sinclair to sponsor BCB Cricket Tournament

– BCB donates to BRCA, BHS, UCCA and Line Path CC as “Year of Investment” gathers steam

The Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) will shortly be benefiting from the sponsorship of another national player as Kevin Sinclair will be coming on board as a sponsor of a junior tournament. Sinclair will be joining teammates Romario Shepherd and Hetmeyer as sponsors of cricket tournaments in Berbice. The tournament would be launched shortly.

The BCB, with the support of former Berbice, Guyana and West Indies opener Clayton Lambert, continues to assist cricket organisations in the Ancient County as it hits the ground running for the new year.

The very vibrant and progressive Board’s theme for 2021 is “Year of Investment” and more than 200 youth players are expected to benefit from donations of cricket gear, bicycles, educational materials and other items as are numerous cricket clubs and organisations in an effort to boost recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Representatives of the recipients pose with BCB Secretary Angela Haniff

The BCB handed over a quantity of cricket gear, coloured uniforms and scorebooks to several organisations including the Berbice River Cricket Association (BRCA); Upper Corentyne Cricket Association (UCCA); Berbice High School (BHS); Rose Hall Canje CC and the newly-resuscitated Line Path Cricket Club.

The BRCA, Line Path CC and BHS received a set of cricket gear while the UCCA collected a box of cricket balls. The BRCA, and Rose Hall Canje CC collected 15 pairs of coloured uniforms to assist them in their overall development, especially at the First-Division level. The combined cost of these uniforms was $240,000 and BCB President Hilbert Foster called on the clubs and organisations to take care of the donations. Noting that he understands the high cost of acquiring gear is affecting clubs in fulfilling their mandates to members, he committed the Board to assisting those clubs that need help. He, however, warned that emphasis would be placed on clubs that have junior divisions.

The BHS is one of the top schools in the county and has produced a list of top cricketers, including Lambert and Shimron Hetmeyer, while the BRCA has been neglected in the past. Under Foster’s leadership, the BCB has organised several tournaments for teams in the riverine areas and has made several donations to them. History will be made later this year when a combined team take part in the historic inaugural Berbice Semi-Professional League. The Line Path CC was recently reformed after a long period of dormancy after it approached the BCB for assistance. The UCCA is the most active sub-association in the county and has benefited from much assistance from the Board over the past three years.

Foster stated that the future of Berbice cricket depended on investing in youths and not in persons who are playing the game for recreational purposes. The BCB would continue to organise cricket for all to play, but its major investment would be in junior players. Foster stated that all clubs in the county would receive cricket balls later in the year while several more would get cricket gear.