By John L. Aaron | Photo Gallery of Awards Presentation
The two-year old New York National Cricket League (NYNCL) held its first annual awards presentation and dinner last Saturday night at the spacious Royal Empress Hall on Rockaway Boulevard in South Ozone Park. Formed in 2016 as the brainchild of Sonia and Ramesh Arunasalam, the league has more than doubled its roster of teams from 12 to 28 in just two years, playing both 30-overs and T20 cricket tournaments.
It was either the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle or American philosopher Will Durant, who once said, “We are what we repeatedly do, Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.” The National Cricket Club has been habitually practicing excellence for more than a quarter of a century; now the NYNCL will hopefully be the beneficiary of such an excellent habit.
The NYNCL was borne out of the 30-year old National Cricket Club, 2016 and 2017 Commonwealth Cricket League (CCL) Champion of Champions. The NYNCL is a subsidiary of the long-standing CCL led by legendary New York cricket administrator Lesly Lowe. NYNCL is led by Sonia and Ramesh Arunasalam, with Subhas “Powan” Persaud as Director of Operations, Leroy Jackman as Secretary/Treasurer, with Krishna Persaud as Umpire Coordinator. The main goal of the league is, “to promote cricket in a hassle-free environment, with the highest standards, as well as good sportsmanship, and setting a very high standard for our youths to learn the traditional sport of cricket.”
New York National Cricket League officials. Photos by Shem Rodney
The awards ceremony attended by some 200 guests and players was a feast of fun and hardware distribution, with more than 125 pieces of hardware awarded in recognition of outstanding performances on and off the field. Some of the ladies presented with bouquets of flowers were Sonia Arunasalam, Leah Persaud, Carla Jackman, and Mrs. Krishna Persaud.
Some of the award highlights with John Aaron as Master-of-Ceremonies included recognition plaques for eight umpires and league volunteers, mainly the wives of members of the NYNCL Board.
PERFORMANCE AWARDS
Hat-trick: Terrence Baihu (NY Warriors) vs. Ocean XI
Six or more wickets in a single match:
Jaspinder “Jesse” Singh (RC Punjab) 7 for 25 vs Bachan
Laddi Singh (Punjab XI) 6 for 18 vs. Ocean XI
Best Bowling Average:
Ryan Persaud (Bachan) 38.1 Overs, 181 Runs, 20 Wickets, 9.05 Average
Most Wickets
Subhas “Powan” Persaud (Bachan) 57.5 Overs, 274 Runs, 30 Wickets, 9.13 Average
Hassan Hussain (NY Zami) 68 Overs, 347 Runs, 28 Wickets, 12.39 Average
30-Overs Centurions
Amandeep “Ammu” Singh (RC Punjab) 133 vs. Cheetahs
Muddassar “Madi” Wariach (Ocean XI) 124 vs. Bachan
Gurjit Singh (Punjab XI) 120 vs. Columbia
Pradip “Freddy” Roopnarine (Bachan) 116 vs. NY Warriors
Jaspinder “Jesse” Singh (RC Punjab) 114 vs. NY Warriors
Yaadwinder “Azad” Singh (RC Punjab) 111vs. Phoenix XI
Saiful Hassan (BR Challengers) 107 vs. Phoenix XI
Mohammed Babu (BR Challengers) 106 vs. NY Warriors
M. Baker (Bachan) 103 vs. Phoenix XI
Harjinder “Jassi” Singh (RC Challengers) 102 vs. NY Warriors
Ryan Persaud (Bachan) 100 vs. NY Warriors
T20 Centurions
Mohammed Asif (Yankee Royals) 120* vs. Cheetahs
Aleem Syed (NY Knights) 100* vs. Phoenix
Most Runs
Amandeep “Ammu” Singh (RC Punjab) 401 Runs
Mohammed Babu (BR Challengers) 367 Runs
Highest Score
Amandeep “Ammu” Singh (RC Punjab) 133 vs. Cheetahs
MVP
Saiful Hassan (BR Challengers) 1946 Points
Ryan Persaud (Bachan) 1927 Points
Most Disciplined Team:
BR Challengers CC
T20 Tournament Championship
Winner: BR Challengers CC
Runner-up: Punjab XI CC
30-Overs Tournament
Winner: RC Punjab CC
Runner-up: Bachan CC
The evening’s awards ceremony was capped beautifully with the presentation of 15 navy blue club jackets to the National Cricket Club players. The jackets each have the club’s emblem embroidered over the left breast pocket.
It was a fitting end to an evening of celebration, one day ahead of a young golfer named Patrick Reed donning the famous and coveted green jacket of the Masters Golf Tournament at The Augusta National, in Georgia. Excellence has its rewards.