Atlantis Honors Trevor Walke: Cricketer Extraordinaire
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Atlantis Cricket Club – NY celebrated its 51st anniversary with a Gala Dinner and Awards event at the Glen Terrace ballroom in Brooklyn, NY last Saturday night. Highlighting the awards ceremony was the “induction” of veteran New York cricketer Trevor Walke as an Honorary Member. The cricketer joined a list that includes Clive Lloyd, Sir Andy Roberts, Sir Curtly Ambrose, Basil Butcher, Joe Solomon, Michael Holding, Gus Logie, Alvin Kallicharran, Lawrence Rowe, Lance Gibbs, Joel Garner, Clayton Lambert, Adam Sanford, Roger Harper and former West Indies female Test cricketer Stephanie Power, the only female among the former Test gentlemen.
Atlantis honoree Trevor Walke (Left) receives plaque from Atlantis’ President Courtney LeGall. Photos by Oswald Thomas
Trevor Walke, a native of Barbados has been playing cricket in New York since 1966 at age 19, and is still playing competitive cricket in the Eastern American Cricket Association’s (EACA) league. The pace bowler started out as a leg-break bowler, but was convinced to switch to fast bowling four seasons into his young cricketing career. The tall lanky cricketer is a household name in cricket circles in New York, both on and off the field, and is well-respected by players and fans alike.
In addressing the dinner guests, Mr. Walke took the opportunity of walking the audience through his half-century of cricket and playing for four teams and four leagues during the period. Noting that his cricket career parallels that of Atlantis formed in 1966, he said, “No other club in New York has impressed me as much, with their consistency and astute leadership.” He added, “The integrity and competitiveness of Atlantis is that of a model club.”
The Atlantis honoree has featured in almost 40 championship titles between 1983 and 2017, while playing for the American Cricket Society that eventually merged with Everest Cricket Club in the EACA. Trevor Walke has defied most odds playing for as long as he has in some very competitive leagues. A testament to his commitment, fitness and fastidious approach to the sport of cricket. Trevor Walke is a cricketer extraordinaire.
Another highlight of the evening was an impromptu effort to raise funds for victims of the recent hurricanes Irma and Maria in the Caribbean. The initiative is that of the Atlantis players, and is being coordinated by Trustee Keith Holder. Guests at the dinner contributed $1,300.00 which, will be added to an ongoing solicitation effort, and the funds forwarded to the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency’s (CDEMA) Emergency Assistance Fund (EAF). The EAF has been actively soliciting donations following the two Category 5 hurricanes that hit Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, St. Kitts, Nevis, Montserrat, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the northern border of Haiti, between September 5 and 19, this year.
Alex Amsterdam accepts his performance hardware
Laparkan, a shipping company with offices in New York and the Caribbean has volunteered to ship items to the hurricane-affected countries in the Caribbean at a volume discount rate. Laparkan spokesperson Sase Singh made the offer to guests at the dinner while relief hurricane relief funds were being solicited.
A highlight announcement of the evening was, Suleman Ahmad, a native of Pakistan and an opening batsman who made his debut this year for Atlantis in New York, is seeking permission of the club’s Executive Board, for him to start a cricket club with similar ideals as Atlantis in Peshawar, Pakistan, and bearing the name Atlantis Cricket Club – Peshawar, Pakistan. Incidentally, Suleman Ahmad was the recipient of the 2017 Atlantis Best Cricket Player Spirit Award.
The evening also saw Atlantis presenting financial scholarship checks to Ms. Tiffany Thompson, Ms. Ashley Archer and Mr. Garfield De Roche, the scholarships were funded by the club’s Shevonne Mentis Educational Scholarship Fund started soon after the tragic events of September 11, 2001 in the United States. Ms. Thompson is pursuing an undergraduate degree in Biomolecular Science at New York University’s Tandon School of Engineering, Ms. Archer is an International Baccalaureate Diploma Candidate with a High School GPA of 4.482 and has also been accepted at NYU’s Tandon School of Engineering. Mr. De Roche is pursuing a comprehensive plumbing certificate at Berg Trade & Business School.
Garfield De Roche (Right) accepts his scholarship award
This year Atlantis rejoined the New York Metropolitan District Cricket Association league and finished in the finals of the league’s Season Opener Six-A-Side tournament and advanced as far as the semi-finals of both the 40-overs and Twenty20 tournaments. Unfortunately, Atlantis lost both semi-finals, but none the less was ranked among the top teams in the league in all three tournaments.
Performance awards were presented to the following players who were recognized for their outstanding performances during this past season. Topping the list was 2017 MVP Francis Mendonca who also picked up hardware for Most Promising Player, Most Disciplined Player and Most Catches (16) during the club’s 40-overs participation. Other outstanding performance awards are listed below.
New York Metropolitan District Cricket Association
40-overs Tournament
Alex Amsterdam: Highest Batting Aggregate – 351 runs
Alex Amsterdam: Best Batting Average – 58.5
Prashant Nair: Most Wickets – 24
Prashant Nair: Best Bowling Average – 10.7
Prashant Nair: Best Bowling Performance in a Single Match – 6-1-26-6
Prashant Nair: Five or more Wickets in a Single Match – 5/31 and 26/6
Dillon Bourne: Most Economical Bowling Performance – 8-2-15-4
Alex Amsterdam: Centurion’s Club – 123
Prashant Nair accepts his performance hardware
New York Metropolitan District Cricket Association
20-overs Tournament
Nicholas Standford: Highest Batting Aggregate – 214
Nicholas Standford: Best Batting Average – 71.33
Keon Lake: Most Wickets – 10
Treon Forde: Best Bowling Performance in a Single Match – 2.2-0-5-5
Treon Forde: Five or More Wickets in a Single Match – 5/5
Prashant Nair: Most Catches – 6
Suleman Ahmad – Best Cricket Player Spirit
Winners of the Super Raffle drawn at the dinner were –
First Prize – $1,000 – Ticket # 09656
Second Prize – $500 – Ticket #03891
Third Prize – $200 – Ticket #09135
The evening wrapped up with patrons dancing until the wee hours of Sunday morning. No one could turn back the revelry enjoyed by all.
Atlantis’ next community-minded activity is its annual toy and coat drive. Anyone wishing to donate toys for needy children in New York or new slightly worn coats for the homeless, is asked to get in touch with any member of the club before December 15 to arrange to drop off or have such donations picked up.
