By Ravendra Madholall
Several former Guyanese cricketers copped awards at the 18th annual Ontario Softball Cricket League (OSCL) award and presentation ceremony which was held on Saturday evening at the East Town Banquet Hall, Scarborough, Ontario.
Leading the way was Ejaz Mohamed, who was adjudged Most Valuable Player (MVP), after his outstanding batting performance for the victorious Cricketer’s Cove in the grand final played recently against East Coast Cricket Club.
He also took home a trophy for his unbeaten 79, while his teammate Troy Gobin was given a prize for his match-winning 93. Mohamed represented Guyana Under-19 team in 1997, while Gobin donned the national colours in 1990 and 1991.
Other ex-Guyanese youth cricketers who were the recipients of trophies too for their spectacular contributions this year were Rems’ Rovendra Mandolall for his 88 and East Coast’s Krishna Deosaran, who was chosen as the MVP in the final for his side. Deosaran accumulated 326 runs in the East Division Conference A.
Mandolall played for Guyana Under-19 team in 1994 and 1995, while Deosaran featured in three consecutive years from 2004.
Fast bowler Trevon Garraway was the other cricketer who would have played for Guyana, but at the senior level. He represented ‘GT Banas’ in Canada this season, playing for the East Division, and was also part of ‘OSCL Jaguars’ side for the Guyana Independence Cup game against ‘OSCL Kaieteur’.
Other outstanding awards went to Caribbean Sensation’s batsmen Suresh Persaud and Anand Balwant for making 399 runs and 326 runs apiece in the East Division, while Kumar Doodnauth of Cricketer’s Cove led the way for the West Division, aggregating 286 runs.
Mahendra Nauth scored 285 runs for Annandale and Abdul Samad made 251 runs for Masters, also in the West Division.
Rems’ Pradeep Singh led the way for the most wickets (22) in the East Division, while Inul Rudolph collected 20 wickets in the West Division Conference B.
with his trophy
Notably, Riaz Ali of Lions; Lalchan Shivraj of Rems and Gavin Singh of Better Hope Sports grabbed hat-tricks this year and all received prizes.
Meanwhile, President of the OSCL, Albert Ramcharran, delivered the feature address and extended heartfelt congratulations to the triumphant teams and also to the players who collected prizes for their outstanding performances.
He reserved special mention to the sponsors for their support again this year and making the tournaments a reality, while he acknowledged the commitments and dedication of his fellow executives.
Guest speaker Kenny Girdharry, a former president of the League, was also in attendance and stated that the growth of the league and participation of the teams once again demonstrated the commitment of the executives.
He revealed they have been doing a terrific job and they must be congratulated for having another function to recognise the players, teams and other important persons.
Some of the sponsors were Shiv Misir, a Broker, MVA, ABR, Twilight and Starlite Family restaurants, Paradise Travel, Dundee Private Investors Inc, Norman Sue Bakery Ltd, Ian Kirby (Scotia Bank), Rems Employment Agency, Paragon Linen, Hollis Wealth Financial Advisor, TDMJ Accounting and Bookkeeping Services, Bobby Photography and Active Green Ross, among others.
