Guyana XI Clash With Invitational XI, Seeram And Aaron To Be Honored
New YorkNewsSam Soopersaud August 15, 2015 admin 0
Caribbean team from last year’s game. Photo: Anand’s Photography
By Sam Soopersaud
The Indo-Caribbean Federation proudly presents its 25th Annual Cricket Match for the ICF Trophy on Saturday, August 15, 2015, at the Baisley Pond Cricket Field, 150th Street and Baisley Boulevard, Queens, NY. The action commences at 11:00 AM and admission is free.
A strong representative Guyana squad will do battle against a squad selected from among players from the Caribbean Islands resident in New York and including a few players from Asian continent. It is also possible that there may be some guest players who currently play cricket in the West Indies. Talks are still going on in this respect.
Rabinranuth Seeram (left) and John Aaron are this year’s honorees.
In the past year the competition has been very keen. Last year the winners were the Guyanese but the Invitational XI has vowed that this year would be different. They have selected a balanced squad of players who are experienced in this format of the game. Guyana boasts the same.
Numerous very exciting youngsters have been included in the squads, because the organizers have placed emphasis on the cricketers of tomorrow. The ICF is giving these youngsters a stage on which to showcase their talent. Come out and see the stars of tomorrow perform in this exciting 40-Overs format of the game. The PSAL tournament has been successful in producing some of the finest players in our area. It is expected that many of the players will be performing at Baisley Park.
Cricket fans; bring Mom and Dad, and sisters and brothers, and Dabit and Bhowgie. Make it an enjoyable Family Day. Bring along a picnic basket. A cooler with those “beverages” will help to lighten the festive mood. Just in case you forget to bring a lunch, there will be light refreshments on sale at the ground.
What is the ICF? It is an organization put together over 30 years ago to address the needs of Caribbean and Guyanese immigrants. It takes the examples of our forefathers who went to the West Indies as indentured laborers, and worked their way to become leaders in the Community. The organization gives a helping hand to numerous charities, in the USA and the Caribbean. Each year it observes the anniversary of the indentureship movement when our predecessors were tricked into going to the West Indies to work on the “white man’s” sugar plantations.
In June of this year the Federation observed the 177th anniversary of our great grandparents’ introduction to a New World. They endured numerous hardships on the sugar plantations, but with hard work and dedication they were able to build a new life. We, the descendants of those who underwent those trying times take pride in observing and celebrating or forefathers’ accomplishments in the face of dire hardships.
Like I said above, bring the entire family to the park. Let the little children be a part of history, celebrating their cultural history. During the half time there would be a cultural program featuring dancers from the Indo-Caribbean Community in Queens. There will also be special appearances by the Miss Indo-Caribbean Federation Queen 2015 Miss Nikki Khan, Annika Prabhudyal, Tina Basdeo, and up and coming male dancer Sean Kulsum.
The Guyana team that took part in the 2014 game. Photo: Anand’s Photography
As customary the Federation honors individuals every year for their contributions to cricket. This year’s honorees are John Aaron, Secretary of the American Cricket Federation and former Guyanese cricketer and Coach Rabindranauth Seeram. Come on out and enjoy an exciting day of cricket, and a fantastic half-time show.
Some the players that will be turning out for Guyana are Karen Ganesh, Mahendra Nagamootoo, Vishal Nagamootoo, Chris Pataddin, Moshin Khan, Udesh Bisnauth, Telston Johnson, Derrick Narine, Travis Ross, Hemant Kumarlall, Deveshwari Prashad, Zamal Khan.
For the Caribbean Invitational XI – there will be David Mohamed, Richie Sieuchand, Faisil Taj, Glen Lorick, Ralston Levey, Adry Linsay, Andy Mohamed, Cyril Choy, Mikey Alexis, Jason Hall, Javien Thomas, Dindyal Sooden and Ganesh Ramsingh.
I spoke to Ralph Tamesh, President of the ICF who is very excited about this year’s game, and he said.” This year’s game is very special for me. I have been here for 24 years and I have seen many tournaments come and go, and the Federation has withstood all obstacles and continues to grow year after year. We have expanded the selection of the Caribbean Invitational team by including players from Southeast Asia, and the quality of the players has uplifted the standard of the game over the years. I want to wish both Captains David Mohamed and Karan Ganesh all the best, and may the better team win.”
The Umpires for the game are Trinidadian Steve Kalloo and Guyana’s Gavin D’Aguiar. The Match Official/Referee is yours truly, Sam Sooppersaud.
For further information you may call the following members of the ICF: President Ralph Tamesh (516) 852-1459, Shamin Ali (917) 623-6475, Son-Son (347) 995-0853, or Randy Harris (718) 285-5614.
