Hawaiian Arctic Cricket Club celebrates another successful year.
Scarborough Cricket Association
By Ravendra Madholall
Hawaiian Arctic Cricket Club is the undisputed king of Scarborough Cricket Association (SCA) Premier 50-over championship and gleefully celebrated their fifth consecutive trophy with a presentation, dinner and dance Saturday evening at Forum Banquet Hall Conference Centre, Toronto.
Their participation for the past 19 years is also a testimony to the continued dedication and commitment and founder and current president Mohan Archie was understandably jubilant having showered praises on his fellow colleagues.
His special guests Consul Generals of Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana in Toronto, Dr. Vidhya Tota-Maharaj and Sattie Sawh respectively also applauded the 5-peat and shared similar sentiments of Archie.
Archie was visibly overjoyed in his feature address as he and his team dominated proceedings from the commencement of this year’s edition winning 17 matches in succession and stated that the victory was “sweet!”
“A very pleasant evening to our distinguished guests, fellow executives, players, the victory is sweet! and welcome to another historic celebration of Hawaiian Arctic; first and foremost I must express my gratitude to our captain Hemnarine Chattergoon and his dedicated and disciplined bunch of players for ensuring an unprecedented five successive premier league titles, an accomplishment that will forever be cherished by many and serve as aspiration for the future generation of cricketers,” Archie explained.
Harrienarine Chattergoon after scoring his master class 268.
He further mentioned leisurely that the team is proud of the achievement and thanked two other founding members, Iqbal Rahaman and Eon Gunraj for their unwavering devotion since the existence of the club and all who played a pivotal role in sustaining this great reputation of Hawaiian. He believed the aim was to create history and they done it with great distinction again.
Versatile all-rounder Zaheer Allard was voted as the Most Valuable Player for the club after he accumulated over 450 runs and took 26 wickets with his left-arm swing.
Harrienarine Chattergoon, the younger brother of Hemnarine, was given great recognition for his prolific run this year tallying up 568 runs including a magnificent double-century (268).
Left-arm spinner Mahadeo Moonasar was rewarded for his outstanding season with the ball to be among the top three players having grabbed two six-wicket haul.
They received special trophies and prizes, compliments of Axion Millwrighting and Fabrication.
Hemnarine and former Guyana first-class opening batsman Krishna Arjune, who waltzed his way to an attractive 169 in a preliminary round match, copped a trophy as well for their significant input.
Each player collected a Championship ruby ring for their performances this year. They had done it in 2013 too, and Archive noted the guys certainly deserved the tangible souvenir and definitely it will continue to motivate them. Other players came for prizes were Reyad Sattaur, Azib Alli Haniff, Ravi Bodo, Shiv Shivram among others.
Meanwhile, Hemnarine spoke about the team’s unity and success pointing out that everyone played tremendously hard cricket and this occasion is organized for them. He expressed thorough excitement to lead the team from the front.
“It was an honor to lead Hawaiian Arctic to their fifth championship in 5 years; firstly, I must say thanks to the every player from this amazing team and without the support this would not have been possible and secondly, it was very true that we stick together as a family and get the job done given the fact it was not an easy season,” the former Guyana and West Indies under-19 opening batsman declared.
Tota-Maharaj was very vocal by expressing her congratulations to the entire team and stated she was delighted to be a part of the celebration.
“It is my pleasure to bring greetings to the Hawaiian Arctic Club on behalf of the Consulate General of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and to congratulate you on your championship; your organization has persevered in promoting cricket which is a sport that is near and dear to the hearts of all West Indians and continues to be a unifying force in our region,” Tota-Maharaj related.
Sawh in her message also extended hearty congratulations to the club for another phenomenal outing and more prestigiously triumphing with the trophy for five consecutive years.
“The hard work and dedication of the players makes you excel year after year and is testimony to the good leadership and sportsmanship of the club; this year seems very exceptional as I read the 17 successive victories a feat never accomplished in the 34 years history of SCA so on behalf of the Consulate and the wider Guyanese community we wish you best of look in the future too,” lauded Sawh.
President of SCA Deo Samaroo made his presence felt by capitalizing on the opportunity to congratulate Hawaiian while his fellow executive and Treasurer Vish Jadunauth presented the winner’s trophy to the team.