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opened fire on a Police Corporal while he was on his way to work on Saturday night.

The shooting unfolded around 20:00 hrs on the Rupert Craig Highway in the vicinity of Conversation Tree.

At the time, Police Corporal 18993 Heamchand Sukhna, who is stationed at the Sparendaam Police Station, was driving minibus, PHH 6880.

The News Room understands that Corporal Sukhna had just turned onto the Rupert Craig highway from the traffic light at Sheriff Street when a car drove up alongside him with two men inside.

Reports are that the driver of the car started to argue with Corporal Sukhna but he could not hear what he was saying.

The Policeman continued to drive and while he was at the traffic light at Rupert Craig and Conversation Tree, he heard a loud explosion, which sounded like a gunshot.

The bullet hit the driver’s side door of the bus, shattering the glass.

The car then sped away east on Rupert Craig Highway. Police recovered a 9mm spent shell at the scene.

The News Room understands that CCTV cameras were seen in the area and will be reviewed.

This is the second attempt made on the Corporal’s life.

In November 2021, gunmen had opened fire on the East Bank Demerara home of Corporal Sukhna, leaving his family fearful for their lives.

Essequibo Cricket Board President Deleep Singh

Understandably, there may be slight adjustments in the training time to facilitate the unique needs of the individual Academies.

The Academy Programme is the brainchild of GCB President Bissoondyal Singh.

At the initial launch at Walton Hall in Essequibo, the Essequibo Cricket Board (ECB) President, Vice-President of GCB, and Director of Cricket West Indies, Deleep Singh commemorated the event by giving opening remarks.

President Deleep Singh was adamant that the Academy will play a big role in the rejuvenation of cricket in Essequibo.

He pointed out that the aim of the Academy is to focus on honing the skills of players who may be lacking fundamentals or to further enhance any possible skills that the young cricketers may possess.

President Deleep Singh was high in praise to the GCB President and executives, thanking the GCB for implementing the same programme which he viewed as both worthwhile and timely.

Also, the ECB President thanked the coaches, parents, and students (players) for turning out in their numbers to be a part of such a historic event hosted collaboratively by the GCB and ECB.

The ECB head concluded by reiterating that the focus of the Academy on the key areas of player development of young players is a huge factor in the effort and drive to nurture and develop the talents of youths, and encouraged the players to make full use of the opportunity.

The GCB’s Territorial Development Officer Colin Stuart urged the players across the three Academies to focus not only on the game, but also on the process of themselves becoming Pros while giving them insight on how to approach the game.

The ex-West Indies pacer pointed out that while the technical aspects are crucial to the player’s development, the fact that cricket is considered to be played with 90% of the players of mental prowess, heavy emphasis must be placed on players’ abilities to consistently execute tasks well.

This consistency must suffice within the varied play conditions that will be presented from match to match within and outside of one’s country.

Further, Stuart called on young players across the respective Academies to, over time, show the necessary drive needed to be a professional cricketer, locally, regionally, and internationally.

He stressed that outside of the technical aspects of cricket, like batting, bowling, and fielding, the need to execute tasks properly albeit on or off the cricket pitch is essential, as it helps to build one’s professional approach to achieving regular success.

Stuart indicated to those present at the launch that the Academy coaches and other suitable personnel will in addition to the technical and physical fitness aspects of the game, address the critical related components of the game on the Laws of cricket, etiquette, player communication with media, sportsmanship and player commitment.

Additionally, the launches held in Essequibo were graced with the presence of ECB executives and several ECB coaches from across ‘Cinderella County’, including the likes of ECB Vice-President Elroy Stephney, former national youth manager Nazeer Mohammed, all of whom appeared overwhelmed with joy by the new doors which are now opened for players in the Essequibo Region.

Both Stephney and Mohammed thanked the GCB for their massive support.

The coaches present at the launch noted that with such an Academy platform available, it will be easier for players to refine their abilities by virtue of dedication and training toward attaining set realistic goals that will put them in a better position to perform consistently well in matches, and thereby making it easier for them to become visible to the Committee/Association, County, and National selectors.

President of the Guyana Cricket Board, Bissoondyal Singh

GCB President Bissoondyal Singh, who could not have been present at the launch due to another pressing high-level engagement that was previously scheduled, expressed his and the GCB’s executive happiness in the realisation of a critical component of the GCB Five-Year Strategy Plan.

President Singh, in his worded submission for presentation at the launch, stated that the Academy initiative was given significant priority by the GCB executives, given the identified gaps in the player development pathway, and the conceptualised benefits of the Academy Programme to the players.

In the case of the former, at times players are selected for national teams with technical deficiencies, and lower fitness levels than required in relation to set CWI/GCB benchmarks and their mental applications which it is perceived can be greatly improved.

Consequently, apart from conducting National Inter-County Tournaments, the GCB has prioritised the Academy Programme to eliminate, or greatly reduce some of these aforementioned deficiencies.

The GCB is of the view that the Academy Programme carried out for its intended purpose will assist players to make the respective national teams with higher levels of technical, and physical fitness abilities, and with greater levels of appropriate mental applications.

The latter is necessary to be inculcated in players since they are required to adapt to various match conditions, whether it be related to pitch, team opposition, and or crowd.

Singh thanked the ECB President and executives, as well as the Chairperson and executives of the North Essequibo Cricket Committee, South Essequibo Cricket Committee and Wakenaam Cricket Committee, for leading the way in getting the groundwork done to implement the programme and urged that they remained steadfast in assisting the GCB through its Marketing Committee to acquire funds to support and sustain the Academy Programme.

Additionally, Singh thanked the youth players and their parents/guardians for demonstrating an interest in being a part of the Academy Programme, and reassured them that the GCB will continue to explore avenues that will lend support to the development of the players’ needs and requirements.

The GCB is encouraging the parents and guardians, and corporate Guyana to embrace and support this valuable nationwide Academy Programme.

GFF President Wayne Forde and officials of Tiger Rentals meeting players ahead of the kick-off on the opening day

“Youth development is at the heart of everything we do at the GFF. The Tiger Rentals League Cup Championship was introduced to provide our Regional Academy Training Centres (ATCs) with additional game time, while at the same time generating an exciting conclusion to what has been an exceptional competition.”

He added: “We are discovering some remarkable young talent and I would like to encourage parents and family members to come out and support these young ballers.”

Young footballers from 10 Regional Academies – East Coast Demerara, Georgetown, Upper Demerara, East Bank Demerara, West Berbice, Bartica, West Demerara, East Berbice, Rupununi and Essequibo – are competing in the championship.

The tournament provides an opportunity for young players to showcase their skill in a competitive environment

Speaking on behalf of the tournament’s sponsor, Naraine wished all the players well and stressed that her company is committed to supporting long-term development of football in Guyana.

“We believe that the children are the future, we must invest in them. Tiger Rentals is committed to long term development of the football talent in Guyana and we are sure we will see massive talent coming out of our investment,” Naraine said.

Teams were placed into two groups of five. Each group will then play a round-robin format and the two teams with the most points in each group will contest in the championship match.

So far, Rupununi, Bartica and East Coast have won two games each, while Georgetown, East Bank, Upper Demerara and East Berbice have one game apiece. West Berbice. West Demerara and Essequibo have yet to win a game.

The GFF-Tiger Rentals Under-13 Inter-Association Development Football League was launched in December 2022 with the Academy Phase competition, which was won by the youngsters from the East Coast Academy Training Centre.

The tournament was specifically designed to develop young players’ ability to apply their knowledge of the game and to ensure that they have a competitive national platform to do so.

Action in the tournament will continue on Saturday and Sunday, with kick-off time being 09:30h on both days.