Semi-professional league on BCB’s radar
-Agriculture Minister pledges support
The Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) is planning to hit the ground running once normalcy returns to the cricket fraternity locally.
According to president of the County Board, Hilbert Foster, plans are in the pipeline for a semi-professional league.
Speaking to Stabroek Sport yesterday, Foster indicated that they are currently in conversation with various stakeholders to have this vision realized and has already received interest from a major sponsor.
Foster noted that this initiative was something that was set to unfold back in August but due to the Novel Coronavirus pandemic, plans were put on hold.
“One of our main plans is to host a semi-professional cricket tournament after we are given the green light to restart our cricket,” he stated.
Foster added, “For the first time, our players would receive a financial stipend while teams would carry home attractive prizes.”
The BCB President detailed, “Over the next few months we would be working very hard to make the tournament a success. Teams would be allowed one guest player from out of Berbice while it would be a 20/20 tournament with two matches per ground on one day.”
As part of the structure, Foster noted that the plan is to have clubs face little to no expense although they would be required to have their own uniforms.
Among the teams proposed are Upper Corentyne, Port Mourant, Rose Hall Town
Youth and Sports Club, Albion, Rose Hall Canje, Tucber Park, Young Warriors, Police SC, Blairmont, West Berbice, Berbice River and East Bank Berbice.
The administrator predicted that “The tournament would become one of the premier ones in our country and eventually go on to bigger things.”
Meanwhile, BCB recently met with Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, at the Fyrish Primary School where the minister pledged assistance in several areas.
In his capacity as a Region Six Member of Parliament, Mustapha committed to seeking avenues to repair several cricket
grounds as well as provide a one-year scholarship for a cricketer at the university level.
He also promised to sponsor a junior cricket tournament in the County next year to the tune of $300,000 and said that he would personally assist the BCB to seek more sponsorship.