Panday wants Guyana to become dominant cricket nation in C'bean
Stabroek News
March 20, 2007
Secretary of the Guyana Cricket Board, (GCB) Bish Panday, wants Guyana to become the outstanding cricket nation in the Caribbean.
Panday expressed this view while delivering the feature address at the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTYSC) awards ceremony recently.
He said the history of cricket in Guyana had shown that Guyana had always been an important source for the improvement of West Indies cricket.
He pointed to the roles played by past greats Rohan Kanhai, Lance Gibbs, Alvin Kallicharran, Joe Solomon, Roy Fredericks, Basil Butcher and Clive Lloyd - roles which he said were significant in taking West Indies' cricket to great heights. "To take cricket into the 21st century we must first have a vision of where we want cricket to go," Panday said. He pointed to the Australian Cricket Board's five-year plan which set itself the goal of making Australia the dominant cricket nation in the world adding, "I believe we should set ourselves a similar goal in this region."
In order to do that Panday said the first step was to ensure the production of quality players who can compete with other players both regionally and internationally.
This, he said, meant instilling in the young players the importance of education. "I do not see any reason why the government and the private sector cannot reward those players who remain in school and play cricket at the same time," he proposed.
Saying that he looked forward to closer cooperation between the RHTYSC and the GCB, Panday also congratulated the winners and suggested that the awards be regarded as incentives to improve the particular area of activity for which they were given. He charged those who were not successful to work harder in order to reap the fruits of their labour.
"Success does not come easily. You have to be committed and be hungry for it. Discipline, hard work, regular practice and proper life style are all important ingredients for your development in your quest for success," Panday said.
He added: "You may find yourself having to stay away from things that seem attractive and in which you may wish to indulge in (alcohol and late night partying come to mind). However, such sacrifices are not without their rewards. Success at the international level brings you fame, money and recognition but all these have to be earned," he added.
Panday also charged the youngsters to, "conduct yourselves in a manner that will bring credit to yourselves, your families, your communities and your country. You must have respect first of all for yourselves. If you do not respect yourselves, others will not respect you. You must have respect for your elders. Don't be taken in by what may look like the trend. You must think carefully about the image you portray. You must also have respect for your Club. If rules are not respected and they are not enforced, indiscipline will take over and the whole structure will fall apart." He also advised that on the field of play they must show respect to their leader and support him, but if they felt it was useful to offer an alternative idea it must be done in the proper way.