Pottaya wins top prize at successful RHTYSC Bakewell/Buster 2024 Cricket Academy

Bakewell/Busta Cricket Academy Graduates 2024

Kaieteur Sports – The curtain came down on the 34th annual Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club Cricket Academy with a dramatic closing ceremony at Rose Hall Town Primary School on Friday. The academy, which kicked off on Monday 8th July, attracted a registration of almost 90 youngsters and was led by a panel of cricket coaches led by Level 3 Cricket Coach Winston Smith. Other cricket coaches included Gregory Crandon, Floyd Benjamin, Ryan Alguan and former national player Eon Hooper. Present at the closing ceremony were Rose Hall Town Mayor Dave Budhu, Town Clerk Natasha Griffith, former Mayor Chattergoon and Region 6 Sports Officer Randy Mangru.

Club Secretary Hilbert Foster stated that despite the weather affecting the 2-day event, the 2024 Bakewell/Busta Academy was a great success and exceeded the club’s expectations. The coaches placed special emphasis on physical fitness as numerous sessions were held with the main objective of improving the batting, bowling and fielding skills of the youngsters. Academy participants were also involved in several practice matches while attending lectures on a wide range of subjects 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 elders. Academy members also presented a donation to the Port Mourant Therapy Unit and Rose Hall Town Council’s Security Department as part of their community development outreach campaign.

RHTYSC Cricket Manager Robby Kissoonlall noted that the club’s success on the cricket field can be traced back to the club’s cricket Academy which has trained over 4,000 youngsters since 1991. A total of 123 players from the Academy have gone on to play for Berbice and Guyana while 16 have played for the West Indies at various levels. Nine RHTYSC members have also played at international level. They are Assad Fudadin, Royston Crandon, Kevin Sinclair, AkshayHomraj, Dominique Ricky, Shemaine Campbell, ShabikiGajnabi, ShenetaGrimmond and Erva Giddings. Kissoonlall noted that the Academy also produced two players for the West Indies women’s under-19 team last week, Trisha Hardat and Danellie Manns. Head coach Winston Smith stated that he and the other coaches were very impressed with the work ethic of the youngsters. Smith noted that the coaches were able to complete their planned programmes. The head coach urged the youngsters to continue working on their game and put into practice what they have learnt. Regional Sports Officer Randy Mangru praised the excellent work of the club over the years. He noted that sports in the region would benefit from millions of dollars in investment by the Government of Guyana in venues across the province.

Guyana junior cricketer Matthew Pottaya was named the Academy’s cricketer after a thrilling and competitive battle with several other players. Participants sat a multiple choice test for 50 marks, 10 marks for an essay, while 40 marks were awarded for attendance, dedication, personal discipline and performance on the cricket field. The Academy’s runner-up was national UNDER 13 player Tameshwar Deonadan, while the best female player was Jada Frazer, niece of Kevlon Anderson.

The Academy cricketer received almost $300,000 worth of prizes including an electric bicycle from KC Singh, an electronic tablet, a gold medal from Kings Jewelry World, designer clothes and watch, headphones, kitchenware, household items, a lazy boy from AH and L Kissoon, cosmetic baskets, food baskets and other prizes. The best batsman and best bowler received a complete cricket set from Demerara Bank, Rose Hall Branch. Other prize winners received a wide range of prizes including trophies, bicycles, electronic tablet, baskets, shoes, designer watches, educational kits and sports equipment. Each participant from the Academy received a service medal, school bag and a thermos flask.

The Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club also presented 2 special gifts to the Academy coaches. The club would like to extend a special thanks to all the individuals and companies that 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, Mikes Pharmacy, NAMILCO, Roger Harper, BhesramRamnaut, Kiran Kadir, Dr. Terrence Blackman, Donna Todd, DemeraraBank, CanadianSurplus, Chris Lachman from the USA and others. RHTYSC also unveiled its roster of 12 under-11 players from the Academy for its special elite training programme that would commence 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 equipment.

The other prize winners were:

Best Batsman: Mario Butcher

Best Bowler: Sohil Sirkisoon

Best turnout: Dev Seepersaud

Most Disciplined: Darvish Narain

Most Improved Player: Ravindra Persaud

Best Player Under 13: Jaden Ganpat

Best player under 11: Joshua Brijlal

Best Field Player – Leon Reddy

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

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