GEORGETOWN—This year’s Scotiabank Kiddy Cricket Programme got off to a rousing start as over 100 enthusiastic children participated in the on-field skills display at the Guyana National Stadium.
The aspiring cricketers were taken from the top performing primary schools in Guyana to showcase their talents during the halftime break in the opening match of the Ballr Cup Tri Nation ODI Series between West Indies and South Africa last Friday.
The primary schools were: North Georgetown Primary, Patentia Primary, Hope Town Primary, Mae’s Primary, Supply Primary, Saraswat Primary, Watooka Primary and Philadelphia Primary.
One of the participants was Shiloh Adams, an all-rounder from the North Georgetown Primary School, who was then chosen to accompany captains Jason Holder and Steve Smith at the toss for the Match 2 of the Ballr Cup between West Indies and Australia on Sunday.
KJ Singh, the WICB’s Senior Project Officer, said he was pleased with the day’s event and is expecting more growth in the tournament.
“We are off to a great start for 2016. The children who participated in the first Scotiabank Kiddy Cricket display here in Guyana were fantastic and showed great discipline and talent. They were very enthusiastic and enjoyed their time on the field, and we look forward to similar demonstrations in the coming months as international cricket visits other countries across the West Indies,” Singh said.
“The WICB has definitely seen great success from the Scotiabank Kiddy Cricket Programme which has been going for over 20 years. Players such as Britney Cooper, Shaquana Quintyne, Jason Holder, Carlos Brathwaite, Shamar Springer, Ryan John, Gidron Pope have come through the programme are were members of the West Indies teams which won the three international titles earlier this year.”
Singh added: “We hope the exposure and experiences these young Scotiabank kiddy cricketers take away for the interval display at the international series inspire them to work hard and achieve great cricketing success, just as those before them.”