Johnny Gomez has been elected new president of The Gambia Cricket Association following a congress held at the Independence Stadium in Bakau last Friday.

Johnny, who held the position of vice president in the former executive, was elected unanimously and went unopposed. He will take care of the affairs of cricket with the new executive for the next four years.

James George was elected vice president, Dr Hector Loum Secretary General who will be assisted by John Kwokori.

Ma Lamin Fofana was duly elected treasurer  and the position of the PRO was included on the constitution following an amendment left with the executive committee to decide on who to give the position. Another five namely Mbye Dumbuya, Rose F Manga, Prince Johnson, Sainabou Kujabi and Maimuna Janneh were also included into the executive.

During the congress, the outgoing President Sony Manly Rollings, in his report stated that significant achievements have been made by the association during the period ranging from hosting of the North West Africa Cricket Championship in Banjul last year to the training of players in Nigeria among other achievements.

The development report, presented by Johnny Gomez, stated that the number of coaching education sessions organised by the association geared towards improving the status of the game in the country has increased.  He said the Cricket Association has been participating in all regional and continental tournaments citing the Schools Cricket and Local league as helping to increase prominence of the game in the country.

 The financial report was presented by Alfred D. Crooks.

Alieu Cham, executive secretary of the National Sports Council, who presided over the congress, said cricket used to be a well-known game in the early days in Banjul and challenged The Gambia Cricket Association to look for ways of reviving the game. He called on all cricket coaches to come together in the revitalisation process.

He commended the Cricket Association for being united and promised to work with the new executive.

The occasion also witnessed a presentation of certificates to participants that attended a cricket-coaching course conducted by ICC Africa Region Development program and ACA Africa Region Development Program.

The AGM will also hear reports from the president, development officer and treasurer among others.

According to The Gambia Cricket Association members are expected to settle a registration fee of D10.00 before being eligible to take part in the process.

The positions to be elected include president, vice president, secretary general and assistant with five elected members.

Two national Cricket team players and level one coaches are currently in Abuja, Nigeria for a training programme on a High Elite Academy Course in Cricket.

Peter Campbell and Wilfred Riley, who left Banjul on July 19th, are undergoing a course on Wicket Keeping and Batsman’s course and Spinner Batsman course respectively.

Speaking to Pointsports, Johnny Gomez, Vice President of the Gambia Cricket Association, said the duo’s trip to Nigeria is funded by the International Cricket Council and the Africa Cricket Association.

Both players are expected in Banjul during the course of the week

The 2007 league champions of the Primary School Cricket League, Saint Joseph’s Lower Basic School, has once again emerged winners of the Knockout competition for primary schools over the weekend.

Organised by the Gambia Cricket Association, the final was played at the July 22nd Square between Saint Joseph’s and Albion Lower Basic Schools.

Saint Joseph’s Lower basic School filled in a mixed team comprising three girls.

The finals was played in the true “ spirit of the game” and very competitive. All the schools that took part in the tournament from Banjul came to watch the final which was widely acclaimed as exciting.

Albion School won the first toss and went on to field. Saint Joseph’s batted first and scored 48 Runs and lost eight wickets, with an average score of 6. The highest scorer was Mounir Raza with 7 Runs, and two wickets. Nyimasatta Sanneh, one of the players got 3 wickets for 6 runs.

Albion Lower Basic School batted next and scored 40 Runs and lost 16 wickets, with an average score of 2.5. The highest scorer for Albion was B Jawara with 9 runs and 3 wickets.

The Vice President of the The Gambia Cricket Association, Mr. Johnny Gomez, who is also the Officer in Charge of Development, Board Members, Senior National Players, were also present at the Finals.

 T-shirts were donated by a Local Milk Distribution Company, Vitalait.

A trophy was awarded to the champions, St Joseph’s,  and each team received  two sets of bats, pads, gloves, guards, cricket balls, and soft balls.

The Cricket Association also revealed its plans to stage a Cricket Jamboree at the end of the school year for all schools in Banjul and the Kanifing Municipality, and a ‘Cricket Week’ in September.

 The tournament is organised as part of efforts to develop the game of cricket at grassroots level, and to ensure that the young people’s interest in the game is sustained.

Five positions, that of President, Vice president, Secretary General and Assistant , treasurer and 5 non official members, will be elected in to the board of The Gambia Cricket Association to run the affairs of cricket for the coming years.

The AGM will give the opportunity to hear reports from the President, Treasurer and Vice president in charge of Development of The Gambia Cricket Association.

Speaking to Pointsports, Johnny Gomez, Vice president of The Gambia Cricket Association, said all female instructors, cricketers, physical education teachers who have gone through a cricket coaching course and cricket playing schools and PE teachers in Banjul and KMC shall have the voting rights during the AGM.

He said presentation of certificates to level one and introductory coaching courses to participants will also be part of the event. He pointed out that the incoming board has a great task ahead of them as they will be faced with things such as soliciting funding to run cricket activities, preparing for the Cricket Summer camp and week in September and ensure the continuity of the national cricket league,

the hosting of the U-15 cricket tournament in October and the U-17 and 13 championships in Nigeria and Ghana in November.

Albion will meet Primary school league champions St Joseph in the final, scheduled for Friday, July 11, 2008 at the July 22 Square in Banjul.

Jonny Gomez, Vice President of The Gambia Cricket Association, speaking to Pointsports, said the tournament is being staged for the second time. He added that both finalists will receive a trophy, Kits, bats pads and gloves at the end of the final.

He said the tournament has featured very interesting matches, adding that one of the finalists, Albion are determined to win in the finals. This, he said, is a sign of progress that the game of Cricket is now been perceived by the younger generation and at grassroots level.

Meanwhile. Johnny has also informed Pointsports that the U-15 and U-17 national cricket teams are currently training in preparation for the upcoming champions to take place in The Gambia and Nigeria.

The Gambia will be hosting the U-15 cricket tournament in Banjul in October starting on the 21st featuringcountries likeCameroon, Mali, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Nigeria and Morocco; including The Gambia.The same countries will be represented in November in Nigeria at U-17 level.

As part of raising the standards of the game in the country, The Gambia Cricket Association will commence its women’s Cricket Academy this weekend at the July 22nd Square in Banjul.

All categories of female cricketers are expected to converged at the square every Saturday and will engage in training sessions which will also focus on bowling, batting techniques and how to make runs, all geared towards enhancing the promotion of the game.

Johnny Gomez, vice president of The Gambia Cricket Association, said this initiative is to ensure that there are well-structured women’s cricket teams and clubs.

He said, “ if the women cricketers are ready and determined in the game, a female national team will be set up and will be registered into their first international ICC Cricket tournament in December 2008.”

The Gambia Cricket Association, over the years, has been staging a series of Cricket coaching clinics for girls in schools to develop the game at grassroots level.

The decision to award The Gambia the hosting of this major tournament was made at the International Cricket Council AGM and Development Seminar in South Africa.

Johnny Gomez, Vice President of The Gambia Cricket Association, who returned from South Africa after successfully attending the AGM, said all participating countries will gather in Banjul from the 24th of October to the 2nd of November 2008 for the tournament.

He added that The Gambia will also be participating in the U-17 Cricket tournament slated for Nigeria from the 21st to the 28th of November 2008 as well as the U-13 category slated for Ghana this year.

Johnny informed Pointsports that the selection process for all the categories is currently going on from both Primary and Upper Basic schools. He urged all players to attend regular training sessions at the July 22nd Square as the selection process and trial matches take place every Saturdays.

He said during the AGM an application was made for an office secretary with support staff by the Cricket association.

The vice president of The Gambia Cricket Association, Johnny Gomez, will leave Banjul today for South Africa to attend the annual general meeting of the International Cricket Council/Africa Cricket Association in Johannesburg.

According to Johnny, during the AGM, a report of the Cricket Association’s past activities will be presented as well as development plans for the year 2008.

“We will also apply for support for a secretariat and look forward for the approval of the bid for the hosting of the U-15 cricket championship in Banjul scheduled to run from the 31st October to November 8th,” he added.

He seized the opportunity, to inform Pointsports that The Gambia Cricket Association will hold its primary school cricket competition on the 6th of June. The competition will be a knockout tournament that will feature 8 teams from Banjul.