The Guyana Cricket Board and Hand In Hand Mutual Fire Insurance Company Limited announced the commencement of its third consecutive year of collaborative sponsorship of the Under 19 Inter County Tournament. Both parties view this tournament as a vital part of the players’ development, as the tournament is used as the main instrument from which players will be selected for national duties. The tournament consists of the Demerara, Essequibo, Berbice and the Select Under-17 teams. It involves two formats, namely 3-Day and One-Day 50 overs, as the Guyana Under-19 team participate in these formats during the CWI Regional Under-19 tournament, which will be held this year in Barbados.
The launching of this tournament, took place on Wednesday 4th April, 2018 at the Hand In Hand Mutual Fire Insurance Company Limited’ Board Room in the presence of Executives, and staff of Hand in Hand and GCB and various media houses. Business Development Officer, Ms. Savita Singh, chaired the ceremony introducing everyone to the gathering; giving a brief history of their company’s involvement in cricket development, while the Hon. Secretary of the GCB, Anand Sanasie, expressed thanks and appreciation to the Hand In Hand Mutual Fire and Life Insurance Company on behalf of the GCB. Mr. Howard Cox, Director and Fire Manager, highlighted some past achievements of Hand In Hand Insurance Company and posited they are pleased to embrace the growth process of the young players by helping them to have the competitive environment that is supportive to their growth. Mr. Cox noted that two years ago, at the same forum, Hand In Hand and GCB were praising Shimron Hetymer and Keemo Paul, for their performances at the young Windies level, and that today they are now playing senior international cricket.
Last year at the domestic level, Demerara won the Hand In Hand Inter County Tournament, while at the Regional level, Guyana won the double title, by lifting both the CWI Regional 3 Day Championship trophy and the CWI Regional One Day 50 over title. In fact, it was the third consecutive year that Guyana won the One Day 50 over title. Also of equal importance was that five Guyanese were selected to the Windies U19 World Cup squad. These players were Bhaskar Yadram, Joshua Persaud, Raymond Perez, Ronaldo AliMohamed and Ashmead Nedd. These achievements are a direct reflection of the GCB’s development structures that are in place to assist with the growth of our players. The GCB would like to thank Hand In Hand for their continued support to the development of cricket. Clearly Hand in Hand’s contribution has given the GCB a great opportunity to provide the Under 19 with an ideal preparation ground, where players are exposed to both the 3 Day and One Day 50 overs format of competitions.
The 3-Day tournament was scheduled to be conducted from 10th April, 2018 through to the 18th April, 2018, while the one day tournament will run from the 22nd April, 2018 and concludes on 28th April, 2018.
The GCB gave high praises to Hand in Hand Mutual Fire Insurance Company Limited, thanking them for their continuous and generous contributions to the development of cricket in Guyana, which the GCB indicated has helped to produce national players who continue to outstandingly represent Guyana.