By Ravendra Madholall in Toronto
The Ontario Cricket Association (OCA) is set to commence their “Goodwill” Tour of Guyana on Sunday against hosts Enmore Cricket Club in a 40-over encounter and a keen battle is highly anticipated.
The Ontario Cricket Association.
On Friday afternoon the side held a farewell Dinner at the Bombay Palace Restaurant where coach of the team Suresh Boodoo expressed deep confidence the side will do well.
“I [am] indeed confident the guys will do well in Guyana; they have shown a lot of enthusiasm and excitement to go down there and play to the best of their ability; it will be a very short trip but I think the main reason is to give the players this kind of exposure,” Boodoo, a Guyanese, related.
On Monday the Canadians will play Everest in a T20 game before taking on Georgetown Cricket Club in another T20 match the following day. On Wednesday, they will travel to match their skills against Albion in Berbice also in a T20 showdown.
They will complete their tour by playing two matches in Trinidad and Tobago on Friday and Saturday. They will face off with Central Trinidad in a 40-over contest before clashing with a Trinidad and Tobago Select XI in a T20 encounter.
“We have a very busy schedule in these two countries; they guys are indeed pumped up and ready for the battle and I am sure they will make a big impression down there; we all know that both Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago have great talented cricketers but I think we have a balanced side to come out on top,” Boodoo declared.
Meanwhile, president of the association, Mike Kendall also expressed optimism the guys will perform well and spoke about the importance of this overseas assignment.
“It is the continuous efforts to improve the performance of the association’s players and young prospects on this tour which is labelled as the “Goodwill Tour”.
“The board [is] investing heavily in the future of these deserving players, who are the flag bearers of the future of cricket in Canada and this tour will allow the players to play against the best players coming out of Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago over the one-week trip,” Kendall related at the function.
OCA is the oldest Cricketing Body in the North American hemisphere, established in the late 1870′s and formally registered in its present form in 1977. Currently, there is a ten-member league operating from North Bay, Sudbury and from Windsor to Ottawa, including many in the Greater Toronto Area.
“We will continue to make Ontario and Canada proud of our heritage by making a sincere and positive contribution to the game of Cricket; the Board of Directors of the OCA are also very thankful to a number of sponsors who are supporting our boys in making this tour possible and we are especially delighted and appreciative of the major sponsorship from the Scotia Bank in particular as it carries with it, enormous importance for Cricket in Ontario as well as Canada,” Kendall commented.
The team will have three players from Guyana featuring for them during their visit there and those names are: former West Indies player Royston Crandon, Ex-Guyana fast bowler Trevon Garraway and GCC’s first-division Garvin Singh.
Premier of Ontario, Kathleen Wynne, via a press release, stated that they were delighted to extend best wishes to everyone participating in OCA’s tour of Guyana and T&T.
“I would like to commend the members of OCA for their commitment to promoting this fast-growing sport in our province and I believe that sports bring out the best in us,” Wynne stated.
The touring team reads: Sarabjot Singh (Captain), Adnan Suleman, Rajiv Bhatia, Aiyub Ahmadzai, Dheeraj Kumar, Nabiullah Nawabi, Muhammad Akber Hussain, Mustafa Popalzai, Azhad Amidon, Ajmal Chughai, Allan DeSouza, Neeraj Bharadwaj and Priyam Thaker. Bisham Singh (manager), Suresh Boodoo (Coach).