Young Warriors Cricket Club clears the air

Jun 27, 2011 Letters

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Dear Editor,
The YWCC is not in the habit of public debates or dispute. However, we are forced to clear the air on article stated on caption. First of all, the club does not understand the motive of the writer and his complainants to drag the respected Regional Chairman, Mr Zulfikar Mustapha into such a minor matter that was finished ever since. Is he trying to create an animosity between the club and the Chairman?
Mr. Mustapha is a good friend and mentor of the club and was instrumental in the club acquiring $2M funding from the Government. The balance was raised by club members by winning incentives from competitions, the largest sum of $500,000 being from The Sharpooji/Palonji National 20/20 tournament, donations from friends and well wishers and membership fees. These monies were spent to bring the ground to its current state.  As a matter of fact, on a recent visit to the ground by Mr. Mustapha, he was so pleased and impressed with the facility that he pledged another one million dollars to assist in the fencing. We have an excellent relationship with the RDC as well as the NDC which is always supportive. We understand and respect that the ground is the property of the Government and our role is only to help the members of the community but it must be done in a structured and responsible manner. We are very happy and grateful that we can work together with the Region, NDC and all stakeholders to build our community and the nation as a whole.
With regards to the issue, please note that all decisions for the club are made by the executives and not one person as suggested by the writer. About three months ago, a gentleman (name unknown) met members and casually indicated that he is interested to hold a fundraising fish fry in aid of a Seventh Day Adventist church in the area. He was told that if weather permits and it is a charitable event, it will be fine.  He never communicated with any member of the club until he and a woman came to the ground the Thursday afternoon prior to the event. A discussion was held and they were told that the ground is saturated with water and as such, it will not be the right thing to play any games on the outfield. However, after taking into consideration that the event was already planned, members of the club offered them to hold the event on and under the pavilion along with the entrance area to the ground. At the same time we asked for a letter from the church for the records with a copy to be forwarded to the NDC. They hesitated for a while and then admitted that the event is not a fundraiser for the church but is a private one. They were told that if that is the case, then they will have to make a contribution to the club depending on the magnitude of the event (a common practice with regards to facilities around the country), funds which will be used to further improve the facility. The gentleman agreed and promised to return on Monday, the day after the event, and make the donation. The event went ahead as planned and to date, we haven’t seen anyone.
The result, after the event, was the use of a heavy duty vehicle to transport stuff that damaged the wet surface; the unauthorized use of electricity from early in the morning till 10PM in the night, mud covered the steps of the pavilion, garbage scattered around and vulgar music played all day and into the night, disturbing the peaceful neighborhood. We consider that as totally unprincipled, abuse and bullism. As a club, our policy is not to allow persons to defraud the public using the name of a church as a cover.
As for the denial of usage of the facilities by the Cumberland Primary School, that is totally untrue and mischievous. The school always has access to the ground. Prior to a new gate, the teachers and students accessed the facility thru the damaged fence adjoining the school and the ground. However, the fence was recently fixed and all the school has to do is to uplift the keys from an executive member who lives just next to the ground. We are making all efforts to secure the ground from grazing cows, horses and donkeys, animals that can cause significant damage to any ground.  How can we be accused of denying young people to use the facility when our aim is to promote youth through cricket? Last year, several schools in the area used the facility to run off their annual athletics championships. The public can confirm with the schools and other social organisations if they ever had a hard time to use the ground. Only recently, GUYWID successfully held a fundraising event at the ground and even received help from our members to host the event. They did not pay a cent and nobody ever did because we support charitable work. However, if the ground is unfit for usage, then people have to understand. All we want is persons to protect and care the facility and don’t allow it to reach the unfit state of some other grounds in the area. Remember, the executives and members of the Young Warriors Cricket Club have invested lots of money, time and energy to transform the ground from a pasture to one of the best in Berbice.
As a cricket club, we have made significant strides over the years. We built a large fully completed wooden pavilion, two concrete sight screens, scoreboard and a new metal gate among other development. Periodically, we grade and full the ground to make it smooth and conducive for the game. The club takes part in all competitions organized by the Berbice Cricket Board from the under 13 to the senior level and those who run cricket clubs can tell how expensive it is to do so. The electricity bill per month is around $3,000. The cost to host a match is about $5,000, while to travel is even more. There are other regular expenses like cleaning and preparing facility for matches and cricket gears among others. The club has produced many National Players some of whom represented West Indies at the Under 19 level. Some of the players of note are Damodhar Daesrath, Gajanand Singh, Richard Ramdeen, Kwesi Maltay, Balram Samaroo, Hemnarine Chattergoon and Imran Jaffarally among others. Daesrath is a former national senior team captain. If the facility was not there, then what would have happened to these and other players? They might have been lost to drugs and crime. The club twice won GCB “Club of the Year Award”.
Those are results of hard and dedicated work of both cricketers and administrators. We have provided solid leadership for the club and would like to remind the community that things that take years to build can be destroyed overnight, that is if it is not properly managed. The writer was advised of the deception of the persons who made the complaints, and being a resident of the area, he should assist the club to further enhance the lives of the young people.
It is our sincere hope that this response clears up any misconceptions that members of the public may have after reading article carried in Kaieteur News dated 2011-06-12.
Members of the Young Warriors Cricket Club

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