Six U-15 players receives $$$ in Education materials and Cricket gear

Six promising Under-15 cricketers from the Ancient County of Berbice on Saturday last were presented with cricket gear and educational material worth $200,000 from the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC) as part of the Third Annual Basil Butcher/Berbice Cricket Development Trust Fund.

The Awardees and their parents pose with Basil Butcher and their gifts.

The players benefitting are Arif Chan, Jameson Anderson and Daniel Lewis of the RHTY&SC, Jameal Jackman of Upper Corentyne, Osbert Cain of West Berbice and Kassam Khan of Young Warriors. Each of the cricketers received one bat, one pair of batting gloves and a supply of educational material.
Secretary/CEO of the RHTY&SC Hilbert Foster in giving an overview of the Trust Fund informed that the former West Indies batting legend, Basil Butcher is a strong believer in assisting young cricketers to achieve their dreams.
Butcher, he said, over the last three years has invested $600,000 in the fund with a total of 26 Under-15 players being assisted to date.
Foster challenged the young players to accept the opportunities being presented to them and that they must strive to work hard and be disciplined if they want to succeed in their careers. He expressed gratitude to Butcher for his partnership and commitment to the future of the game in Berbice while making a call for other former cricketers to follow Butcher’s lead.
Berbice Cricket Board President Keith Foster stated that the activity was a red letter day in the development of the sport in the Ancient County.
Keith Foster who is also the eldest son of Basil Butcher praised his father for remembering his roots and issued a challenge to the six awardees to emulate the legend who played 44 test matches.
Butcher in feature, remarks encouraged the sportsmen to play the game out of love and not for financial rewards.
Discipline is important to a cricketer, the 77-year-old former West Indies middle order batsman stated. He also told the attentive audience that massive investments were needed to stop the rapid decline in the fortunes of West Indies cricket while noting his pleasure in giving back something to the game that made him famous and provided an income.