He charged them to make the game likeable such that many young ones would cherish playing and making a living.

 “I charge you to emulate the likes of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, and Virat Kohli and make the sport a national past-time”the minister said.

According to him, cricket fetches more money for the Indian, Pakistani, Australian, West Indians and the Sri Lankan economies than any other sporting discipline in those countries.

Mr Vanderpuye made these remarks last Friday when the national Under-19 cricket team came to inform him about winning the ICC Africa Division Two cricket tournament in South Africa last September.

Mr Vanderpuye pledged to support their cause to help grow the sport in every part of the country and announced an initiative to introduce the sport to primary and second-cycle institutions across the country.  He also informed them about plans to construct a national cricket stadium in the country.

The team, which was led by Coach Mark Bawa and director of Nsromma Cricket Academy, Mr Sneb Asamoah, they informed the minister that his charges were determined do all that was possible to make Ghana proud.

He described the team as one of the nation’s finest ever cricket team and appealed for support from all to help them succeed.