Tournaments in B/ce taking a hit due to coronavirus

Despite the difficulty of attracting sponsorship throughout Guyana, the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) has always prided itself on its ability to attract sponsors ever since Hilbert Foster took over as president in February 2018.

The BCB, in 2018, defied the odds and hosted in excess of 60 tournaments. However, with the novel Coronavirus commonly known as Covid-19 spreading through the globe, the BCB will not be able to hold so many tournaments.

“With the uncertain climate, we do not know when cricket can restart. The BCB might be forced to reduce to just 12 or 13 tournaments in 2020, a big drop from the projected 25,” Foster told this newspaper in an exclusive interview.

According to Foster, cricket has stopped entirely in the county, not even afternoon practice and BCB staff members have been confined to working from home as the office doors have been shut until further notice.

The BCB executives have also decided to defer monthly meetings until the issue is controlled.

With the pandemic becoming more and more threatening, the closure is likely to continue throughout April.

As a direct result, the proactive board was forced to delay, with the possibility of cancellation, the start of several tournaments at the U17, U19 and second-division levels.

He reasoned that with businesses taking a hit due to the pandemic and other issues, it is difficult to attract more sponsorship.

Foster informed that at least three tournaments including one of its longest running first-division

President of the Berbice Cricket Board, Hilbert Foster.

tournament will not be played this year since sponsors have indicated they are unable to support.

Particularly worrying for the BCB President is the uncertainty of its inaugural Berbice Premier League due to a number of stakeholders signaling their inability to help with sponsoring the event.

“The BCB may be forced to put on hold its plan for the first ever Premier league in August as sponsorship from almost all companies have been put on hold. If the situation continues for another month, the Premier League would be pushed back to 2021,” he reckoned.

Additionally, the semifinal of the Banks Beer two-day, firstdivision tournament, Mike’s Pharmacy U15, Asphalt Premium/ T and R construction T20 and Friends of New Amsterdam 100-ball tournaments have been shelved for the time along with the GBTI InterSecondary Schools tournament and the final of the Elizabethan Styles U-21, Lewison General Store U-15, Let’s Bet Sports 100ball and Upper Corentyne Cricket Association/Price is