Guyanese-born Coach playing massive role

Oct 13, 2010 Sports

– as Suriname prepare for ICC tournament in Kuwait

By Sean Devers
While returning from the Champions League T20 cricket competition in South Africa I spent two days in Suriname, Guyana’s Dutch neighbour to the East and was pleasantly surprised at the high interest for Cricket in the Football-mad South American country.
The Suriname national team will travel to Kuwait for the ICC World Cricket League Division Eight cricket tournament from November 6-12 and Kaieteur Sport was taken on a tour of the country’s main cricket grounds and the Suriname Cricket Board (SCB) office in Paramaribo before attending a youth coaching session by Guyanese born Cyril Bonar in a small rural village about an hour outside Paramaribo.

Suriname Cricket Board President Raj Narain

At 64,000 square miles and a population of just under 500,000, Suriname is the smallest independent country in South America and Football is easily the country’s most popular sport although the success of Trinidad and Tobago-born swimmer Anthony Nesty (the only person to win a medal for Suriname at the Olympics) has created a interest for Swimming.
The biggest task of those involved in cricket in Suriname is getting school children involved and acquiring Government and corporate support for the sport. Both Bonar, who has resided in Suriname for over three decades and SCB President Raj S Narain told Kaieteur Sport that the country has applied for ICC Associate membership and the game is developing a bigger following among the country’s youth.
Surname became an affiliate member of the ICC in 2002 and their international debut came 2 years later at the Americas Affiliates Championship.
In 2006, in the new Division Three of the ICC Americas Championship, Suriname won a four team tournament involving Brazil, Chile and the Turks and Caicos Islands. This qualified them for the Division Two tournament played in Argentina late in 2006, when they came fourth out of five teams.
Plagued by Visa problems for their key players, Suriname placed fifth at the Global Division Seven tournament last year and was relegated to Division Eight. Narain feels that proper preparation is the key to Suriname doing well in Kuwait and wants to forge closer ties with the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB).
“Guyana is the biggest cricketing nation in South America and has produced so many International stars and they are right next door to us. We have had a few tours to Guyana and Guyanese players participate in our club competitions from time to time. We (SCB) are hoping that we can work with the Guyana Board in a structured manner to assist in the development of the game in Suriname,” Narain, who took over the SCB Presidency in 2004, said.
“We have already started training teachers in basic coaching and by next term we should have cricket in the schools. The interest is already there since the youngsters play a lot of bat and ball,” Bonar informed.
Bonar also disclosed that Dr Snellen Park in Paramaribo is the country’s leading ground and with the help of Staatsoile (Suriname Oil Company) lights should be installed at Snellen Park before year end. He said an indoor facility should be completed there early next year.
Narain said he is satisfied with the progress made so far and is most pleased with the efforts of those involved in management of Suriname’s cricket.

In the presence of SCB President Raj Narine (on phone), Coach Bonar (left) chat with eager young cricketers in a poor, rural Village in Suriname.

“This is a football mad country and I am pleased with the passion shown for cricket here and I am not only talking about the cricket board members. We have Guyanese players coming up to play here but we want to have official talks with the Guyana Board to put in place a formal structure with their assistance to improve our cricket,” Narain said.
Bonar explained that it was difficult getting into the schools since there are 187 schools in Paramaribo alone.
“Now that we have done that the challenge is to get coaches into so many schools and to get the kids from softball to hardball cricket. There is a lot of talent and we hope to get about 30% of the kids playing serious cricket and the get the best group of players into an Academy with the assistance of the Coach Kumar Rampat from the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board,” Bonar revealed.
Bonar said once the equipment and coaches are available for the schools programme the future of Suriname cricket should be bright.
“Our aim is to qualify for the 2019 World Cup and to have our national female team playing in ICC competitions by next year. At present we have under-19, 17 and 15 teams and our under-19 team will tour Guyana in October,” Narain said.
The SCB is planning to build three indoor facilities with hostels. The largest one set to be built in Nikerie which is the hub of cricket in Suriname, by 2013. The other two smaller ones should be completed by early next year and be equipped with bowling machines and gyms.
The SCB is hoping to be involved in Guyana’s cricket to help expose their players and wants to explore the possibility of playing as a guest team in Guyana inter-county limited overs competitions in the future.
A team from Guyana will participate in the King Jewelry competition from October 21-14 in Paramaribo. This competition will also involve teams from Trinidad and the USA in addition to Suriname national senior team and will comprise of three 40-over games and 3 T20 matches.
Bonar’s love for the game is one of the reasons why he continues to be involved in the sport in Suriname and he says that if the South American country is granted ICC Associate status then more funding and human resources will be available to develop cricket in Suriname.
For now, whatever sponsorship and government support the SCB can get will go a long way towards realizing the country’s dream of playing in the 2019 World Cup and people like Narain and Bonar have to continue their selfless work if that is to happen.