Latest update November 29th, 2024 1:00 AM
Lethem re-launches Cricket Club for first time in decades
Kaieteur Sports – A Region nine visionary has broken barriers to re-launch Lethem’s first ever cricket club with the hopes of promoting recreation, unearthing talent and bring the community together through capacity building, skill training and social development.
Lethem Cricket Club Executive member, support staff and the coaching team discussing the way forward at the launching.
Kaieteur News understands that, there were cricket clubs in Lethem (Annai, and Aishalton) in the 1970s, but it has been decades since they went out of operation.
According to the Founder and President of the Lethem Cricket Club (LCC) Kenrick McDonald, “Many residents of Region nine are fluent in Portuguese as well as English, they travel to Brazil frequently, and are huge fans of Brazilian music, and they have adopted Brazil’s national game, football. On this note, Region nine has numerous male and female football clubs but prior to this venture, no cricket club had been in operation for at least three decades.”
For several years, McDonald tried unsuccessfully to get the sport of cricket going in region nine area, but he faced too many bureaucratic barriers, too much discouragement, and lack of enthusiasm but he didn’t give up. In 2022, Mayor of Lethem, Mr. John Macedo, helped him cut through some red tapes to finally form Lethem’s first ever Cricket Club.
Lethem’s Mayor John Macedo is seen interacting with members of the LCC.
According to McDonald, “It’s also heartening to hear that the Mayor of Lethem, Macedo and I sharing the same passion for the game. Macedo, who represented the county of Berbice in his earlier days of cricket, has been instrumental in helping to establish the LCC. Now that LCC has just been launched. It is still at its embryonic stages of development, and it has a far way to go. How fast and successfully the LCC kicks off now depends a lot on the business community of Guyana, governmental support, and the support of other influential individuals.”
McDonald, who is employed with the Ministry of Health in region nine explained, He always had a passion for cricket and during his service in the Guyana Defence Force, he represented his team in several cricket tournaments across Guyana. But then, it was time to return to his hometown – which he did in 2015. He says, “I’m baffled as to why region nine residents don’t get involved in the sport of cricket. Cricket is considered to be the national game of Guyana, but unfortunately, the residents here have been missing out a lot on the cricket culture.”
Meanwhile, McDonald lamented, “The club has just a few of the required items. All we have at this moment are a pair of batting gloves, one bat, a pair of batting pad and two cricket balls. Some of the items still needed are: cricket balls, bats, batting and keeping pads, batting and keeping gloves, thigh and side pads, helmets, stumps, training cones and markers (disc cone and sports cone), speed agility ladder, agility hurdle poles, abdominal guards, funding to prepare the sports ground, etc.”
The LCC welcomes any support from cooperative Guyana in any form that will assist in this worthy endeavor. If you would like to be a part of this historical undertaking and give support to the Lethem Cricket Club, contact 670-7208.
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