Pottaya earns top award at successful RHTYSC Bakewell/Buster 2024 Cricket Academy

Jul 22, 2024 Sports

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Kaieteur Sports – The curtains for the 34th edition of the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club annual cricket Academy came down on Friday last with an impressive closing ceremony at the Rose Hall Town Primary School. The Academy which started on Monday the 8th of July attracted the registration of close to 90 youths and was conducted by a panel of cricket coaches headed by Level 3 cricket coach Winston Smith. Other cricket coaches were Gregory Crandon, Floyd Benjamin, Ryan Alguand former national player Eon Hooper. Present at the closing ceremony Rose Hall Town Mayor Dave Budhu, Town Clerk Natasha Griffith, former MayorChattergoon and Region 6 Sports Officer Randy Mangru.

Club secretary Hilbert Foster stated that despite the weather which affected 2-day,  the 2024 Bakewell/Busta Academy was a huge success and exceeded the club’s expectations. The coaches place special emphasis on physical fitness while numerous sessions were done with the main objective of improving the batting,  bowling and fielding skills of the youths. The participants of the Academy were also involved in several practice matches while they were involved in lectures on a wide range of topics such as the history of the game,  rules of cricket, rules of a sports ambassador, personal hygiene, the importance of education, table manners, drug abuse, peer pressure and respect for the elderly. Members of the Academy also handed over a donation to the Port Mourant therapy unit and Rose Hall Town Council security department as part of their community development outreach campaign.

RHTYSC cricket manager Robby Kissoonlallnoted that the success of the club on the cricket field can be traced back to the club cricket Academy which since 1991 has trained over 4000 youths. A total of 123 players from the Academy have gone on to play for either Berbice and Guyana while 16 have played for the West Indies at different levels. Nine RHTYSC members have also played at the international level. They are Assad Fudadin, Royston Crandon, Kevin Sinclair, AkshayHomraj, Dominique Ricky, Shemaine Campbell, ShabikiGajnabi, ShenetaGrimmond and Erva Giddings. Kissoonlall noted that this Academy last week also produced two players for the West Indies Under 19 female team, Trisha Hardatand DanellieManns. Head coach Winston Smith stated that he and the other coaches were very impressed with the work ethics of the youths. Smith noted that the coaches were able to complete their planned programs. The head coach urged the youths to continue working on their game and to put into practice what they have learned. Regional sports officer Randy Mangru hailed the outstanding work of the club over the years. He noted that sports in the region would benefit from millions of dollars of investment by the government of Guyana into venues across the county.

Guyana junior cricketer Matthew Pottayawas named cricketer of the Academy after a close and competitive battle with several other players. Participants were involved in a multiple choice tests for 50 marks, 10 marks for an essay while 40 marks were given for attendance, commitment, Personal discipline and performance on the cricket field. The runnerup of the Academy was national UNDER 13 player Tameshwar Deonadan while the best female was Jada Frazer, niece of Kevlon Anderson.

The cricketer of the Academy received close to $300,000 worth of prizes including an electric bike from KC Singh, an electronic tablet, a King’s Jewelry World gold medallion, design clothing and watch, a headphone, kitchen utensils, household items, a lazy boy from A H and L Kissoon, cosmetic hampers, food hampers among other prizes. The best batsman and best bowler receive a complete cricket kit from Demerara Bank,  Rose Hall Branch. Other awardees receive a wide range of prizes including trophies, bicycles, electronic tablet, hampers, footwear, designer watches, educational packages and sports gear. Each participant of the Academy received a medal of service,  school bag and a hot and cold flask.

The Rose Hall Town  Youth and Sports Club also presented 2 special gifts to the coaches at the Academy. The club would like to express special thanks to all the persons and companies who contributed to the success of the Academy including Bakewell, Guyana beverage company, the National Assembly, Minister Joseph Hamilton, Minister Collin Croal, Minister Susan Rodriguez, KC Singh, Desinco trading, Banks DIH, RomarioSamaroo, John Ramsingn, Alistair Collins,, Target innovation, Mike’s Pharmacy, NAMILCO, Roger Harper,bBhesramRamnaut, Kiran Kadir, Dr. Terrence Blackman, Donna Todd, DemeraraBank, CanadianSurplus, Chris Lachman of the USA among others. They are RHTYSC also unveiled its squad of 12 under 11 players from the Academy for its special elite training program which would start shortly. The players selected were Lamar Lafleur,Akeem Frazer, Randy Williams, Kelvin Ramlal, Anthony Sirkisoon, Dilshan La Cruz, Aden Moore, JawanFrank, Daniel Alexander, Ronaldo Roberts,Kumar Chandradeo and Jonathan Lyte. These players would be invested in the future with special training and gears.

The other awardees were:

Best batsman: Mario Butcher

Best bowler: Sohil Sirkisoon

Best attendance: Dev Seepersaud

Most disciplined: Darvish Narain

Most improved player: Ravindra Persaud

BestUnder 13 player: Jaden Ganpat

BestUnder 11 player: Joshua Brijlal

Best fielder – Leon Reddy

Special awardees: Jonathan Hicks, Nars Lachgadu, Sohil Veerapen, Nicholas Cameron, Jevon Crandon, Darwin McKenzie and Dinesh Singh.

 

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