Word of Singh’s stepping down influenced Johnson to contest elections

Jan 04, 2009 Sports

---

By Sean Devers

Simple, down-to-earth and passionate about the development of cricket from the school level, 51 year old Alvin Ricardo Johnson is one of the candidates vying for the position of Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) President at the Board’s next elections on January 25.
A headmaster by profession, Johnson, who hails from Parika on the East Bank of Essequibo, is the President of the Essequibo Cricket Board (ECB) and Vice-President of the GCB.
Following discussions with the Demerara Cricket Board (DCB) and influenced by the news that incumbent GCB head since August 1991 Chetram Singh was not seeking re-election, the affable Johnson decided to enter the race to become the first ever Essequibian to be elected GCB President.
“When I heard that Mr Singh had decided not the seek re-election I felt that I needed to step up and take over the mantle of leadership at a time when there is plenty of work to be done at the Board level and when everyone seems not to be working together for the best interest of Guyana’s cricket,” Johnson explained.
“While my main interest is the revival of cricket at all levels in Guyana and I have already had discussions with several persons on the way forward, I am not only interested in the politics of the game but on improving the cricket on the field also,” Johnson stressed.
“I like many Guyanese love cricket very much and want to see more Guyanese play Test cricket and Guyana win more titles at the regional level. As an executive on the GCB, I am aware of the strengths and weakness of cricket administration presently in Guyana and I hope to use that knowledge to help Guyana’s cricket as best as I could,” Johnson stated.
With Singh now being persuaded to run for a final two-year term, Johnson say he has to re-think his strategy as the GCB heads to elections.
“Chetty (Chetram Singh) and Bish Panday played very important roles in helping me to settle in when I first entered cricket administration at the GCB level and it is sad for cricket to see how these two men have pulled apart today. I believe that Chetty might now be back in the race and I guess everyone will have to now come up with new plans now since he is easily the most experienced of the local administrators,” Johnson said.
A firm but fair individual, Johnson played cricket at the club level and has gained the respect of those in the local cricket fraternity because of his apparent genuine interest in the development of Guyana’s cricket as a GCB official. Those who know him know that the ambition to be elevated to the highest position in Guyana’s cricket is not the driving force behind Johnson’s decision to run for the Presidency.
“As manager of the Guyana under-19 team I think I have a fair idea of what is needed for our young cricketers to succeed at the regional level. A lot of work on the mental aspects of cricket has to be done if our youngsters are to progress to a higher level while we cannot forget the technical aspects of their game,” Johnson explained.
In 2007 in St Kitts, Guyana won their first regional youth title since their phenomenal run of six consecutive title ended in 1997, while Guyana has not won a first class title since 2002.
Guyana has failed to make an impression at the regional under-15, under-17 and female levels while last year Guyana failed to qualify for the regional one-day semi-final for the time since in close to a decade as the general standard of cricket in Guyana has taken a nose-dive in recent times.
Although ICC’s top ranked Test batsman Guyanese Shivnarine Chanderpaul continues to be a great example for young batsmen, no Guyanese has managed to cement themselves in the West Indies team since Ramnaresh Sarwan made his debut nine years ago.
Apart from removing them from the annual four-day Inter-County tournament due to their consistent poor showings, not much has been done by the GCB to help Essequibo’s cricket.
It seems that School cricket is played just for the sake of having a school tournament with no emphasis being placed on helping the students to improve the theory or technical aspects of their cricket and unless coaches are sent to schools and the game is taught as a subject in the classroom, Guyana’s cricket nursery will continue to struggle to produce quality players for the higher level.
With the West Indies team looking a long way away from returning to the dizzy heights of the 1980s when the team was invincible and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) in shambles administratively and financially, whoever assumes the office of the GCB for the next two years, will have a lot of work to do.
While he says he will not neglect any area, Johnson wants to focus on the revival of a proper schools system since he feels that if the foundation is strong the game should improve. He also intends to help Essequibo cricket through better initiatives from the GCB.
“It is good to hear that an Academy is to be set up here which will no doubt help the youngsters prepare mentally for their cricketing careers. While funding will be a major factor, my vision is to see a sports school where you can major in cricket or football or whatever sport and you must also be involved in academics. Many of the colleges in the USA cater for sportspersons without sacrificing the academics.
If we can get proper sports tutors into the schools and get the children interested in sports at an early age I think we will start to see improvements in the mental and physical aspects of their game,” Johnson continued.
“We have got to try and get cricket back into the schools in a meaningful way and I think the GCB and the Ministry has to be a bit more vibrant in getting coaches back into the school system especially since cricket is now on the CXC curriculum,” Johnson opined.
Johnson says that our rainy weather continues to affect the preparation of the national team early and late in the year and feels that all-weather facilities are important although he adds that cost is also a critical factor to many great concepts.
Already Johnson has been instrumental in the construction of a hostel and indoor practice facility at Anna Regina on the Essequibo Coast and this project is expected to be completed early this year.
Johnson is a ‘big family man’ and the Manager of the National under-19 team since 2003 and is the father of award winning former Television Sports Journalist Alana Johnson and brother of national under-15 coach Vibert Johnson.
“Once I made the decision (to run for the presidency) I discussed it with my family and they understand that there are a lot more demands on the time of the GCB President.
There is so much to be done for cricket in Guyana and the West Indies and since I like to be a hands-on President, obviously I would want to be involved in most of the major decisions so I would have to be prepared to spend a lot of my time involved with cricket and my family understands that,” Johnson said.
The eradication of insularity and petty politics among local cricket officials should be a crucial area of concern for the new GCB and Johnson says that once you put the cricket first and try to appoint the best persons for key positions you should see improvements in Guyana’s cricket.
Now that Singh is back in the race it will not be surprising if Johnson, who has a lot of respect and admiration for the incumbent Singh, shifts his election plans to support Singh, especially if he is re-elected Essequibo Cricket Board head on January 11.
Kaieteur Sports will publish the thoughts of the other candidate Bish Panday as the ‘Meet the GCB Presidential Candidates’ continue.

---

---