Dear Mr. Editor
Franchise teams and National Teams are so vastly different concepts that one is left to wonder why the big confusion and evocation of NATIONAL PRIDE in the winning of the Guyana Amazon Warriors (GAW).
Teams selected by the Guyana Cricket Board have in the past won regional cricket competitions, yet there was never a thought of a National Holiday or Managers’ Holiday as the case may be for the school system. It was indeed a disruption of the business day in Georgetown as Main Street and environs had to be shut down for Cricket Carnival, Monday 25th September, 2023. It all goes to show to whose music we the people are forced to dance. I rescheduled a trip to National Hardware after a bus driver referred to the chaotic situation downtown.
Let us examine the winning Amazon Warriors team. By that I mean the eleven modern day Gladiators and the support system they relied upon. Worthy of Note is the Team’s Major Sponsor is Exxon Mobil. In some quarters the name is mentioned as the Imperial Master of things related to Guyana. The Franchise holders of GAW, Dr Ranjisingh ‘Bobby’ Ramroop considered in most quarters to be a frontman for VP Bharrat Jagdeo. Hence the lavish budgetary provisions of support from the national coffers, certainly more than the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) receives.
To note is the GCB is working for cricket development at the national level.
The fact that the coaching staff is headed by a non-Guyanese and of the 11 men who wore the GAW team uniform last Sunday night of whom 6 were not Guyanese nationals, one is left to wonder if they reciprocated in anyway the National Pride demonstrated by spectators many of whom travelled thousands of miles to be at Providence. In other words, with more than 50% of the team players being rank outsiders, how in heaven’s name do they become our Team? These are people who simply ply their skillset to the highest bidder. Hence it would not surprise if the current GAW heroes Tahir, Ayube and Pretorius turn up in TKR’s uniform next season alongside Coach Klusener, (I acknowledge that chances of that are slim as Exxon’s pocket is deeper than Carib’s).
What I see is a gullible populace being led to believe that their national pride is preserved by a group who in other circumstances may very well be described as mercenaries. This is more vivid when one considers that the real players are juggling significant state resources away from the treasury, not only in the form of budgetary support given to GAW. They are the beneficiaries of the lopsided Berbice Bridge deal. By the way, are we to accept the recent attempt to collapse the excess stated oil production cost for a few emblazoned sports outfits?
Yours truly
Elton McRae
