Berbice’s junior and senior cricketers were honoured at an awards ceremony held on Saturday 28 June 2025 at the St Francis Community Developers Hall in Port Mourant, Corentyne.
During the ceremony the president of the Berbice Cricket Board reviewed a busy 2024 calendar in which competitions were staged from under-11 through to the senior ranks.
Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club took both the under-11 and under-13 titles, while Rose Hall Community Centre Cricket Club won the under-15 competition in Canje. Albion Community Centre Cricket Club claimed the under-17 title and Port Mourant Community Centre Cricket Club won the under-19 competition. Rose Hall Town Sports Club took the first division T20, while Tucber Park won the Berbice Cricket Board Premier Cup T20.
The board noted that the spread of winners showed the county’s talent is not concentrated in one or two clubs, with several different teams lifting trophies during the year.
Individual awards were presented across the age groups for cricketer of the year at under-13, under-15, under-17 and under-19 level, along with most improved junior cricketer, umpire of the year and coach of the year. Second division player of the year awards were handed out for the West Coast Berbice, New Amsterdam and Canje, Upper Corentyne and Central Corentyne zones.
On the inter-county front, Berbice were runners-up to Essequibo at under-13 and runners-up to Demerara at under-15. The under-17 tournament was washed out after Berbice had defeated Demerara by six wickets in the opening fixture and posted 198 in a rain-shortened second game.
Several players progressed from those county sides into national selection, with a number later admitted to the West Indies pathway programme for formal training. Two Berbice coaches were also selected to work with the Guyana team at the West Indies tournament.
In the women’s game, Berbice won the 2024 under-19 competition and had six players represent Guyana, one of whom captained the national under-19 side to victory in the regional tournament and went on to make her senior Guyana debut in 2025. At senior level Berbice won the 50-over competition and were runners-up in the 20-over format, with seven players representing Guyana, among them Shemaine Campbelle, Realeanna Grimmond, Shabika Gajnabi, Ashmini Munisar and Sheneta Grimmond. Four of that group represented the West Indies during the year.
Among the men, seven Berbice players were selected for the Guyana Harpy Eagles in the 50-over competition and six in the four-day competition, while nine were drafted for the Caribbean Premier League. Five Berbicians represented the West Indies in 2024, including Shamar Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Romario Shepherd, Shimron Hetmyer and Kevin Sinclair, with Kevlon Anderson later named in the West Indies Test squad.
Club honours went to Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club as senior club of the year and Rose Hall Community Centre as junior club of the year, with second division club recognition shared among Cotton Tree Diehards, Tucber Park, Whim Community Centre and Number 70 Spartans.
The event was attended by several distinguished guests, including Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Charles Ramson Jr, Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat, the Region Six Regional Executive Officer and the president of the Guyana Cricket Board, Bissoondyal Singh.
The report was filed for LRTVS Newswatch.