By Ravendra Madholall in Toronto
The presence of foreign cricketers was very pleasing in 2013 for Scarborough Cricket Association (SCA) and President Deo Samaroo stated they will definitely maintain the high standard as an organization.
Executives of Scarborough
Since the formation of the association in 1981, a big number of players coming from the Caribbean to feature in their limited-over competition and what took place in yesteryear are considered a tremendous success for them.
Samaroo, who has been at the helm for the past four consecutive years after a two-year hiatus, was satisfied with the performances of his executives and was also delighted to see the admirable participation of local and visiting players. He had served four years before his break.
“We were definitely happy with the progress we made in 2013 in terms of running off lots of competitions and once again to see the amount of players coming from the Caribbean and taking part,” the Guyanese commented.
The Annual General Meeting (AGM) is scheduled to be held on Sunday at the Agin Court Community Centre and Samaroo will be seeking re-election. He also has vowed to make another impact in this important capacity, once elected, and to see the high standard that prevailed last year will once again materialise.
“This year I can predict another successful one for us and once I can be given the opportunity to run the affairs of cricket in Scarborough again; I will continue to work hard to see the continued development of the game; my executives have been very supportive in all aspects and that really is encouraging,” Samaroo, a fully-qualified umpire too, declared.
Former West Indies one-day cricketer Royston Crandon played in the League while his fellow Guyanese compatriot and Guyana’s senior fast bowler Trevon Garraway also appeared last year and their involvement demonstrated the steady growth and well-organised, quality cricket.
Both players were part of the Hawaiian Arctic Cricket Club, the team that emerged as the Premier Division Conference Regular Season for the fourth successive year. Several players have also either born in India and Pakistan or have those countries’ parentage background that featured frequently in the annual SCA’s competition.
“Well, you have players from different parts of the world playing cricket in Canada and that is very happy to see; so it is vitally essential that we maintain a high standard for the betterment of the game; we will continue to have good competitions as well,” Samaroo mentioned.
Apart from the first-division category, which attracted lots of teams, the second-division was seen as another impressive competition while they will have a regular T20 competition from this year. In 2013, the second-division trophy was lifted by Islanders United Cricket Club while the inaugural T20 championship title went to Bilal Cricket Club.
Victoria Park Cricket Club copped the under-19 trophy beating SCA Clots.
Meanwhile, Public Relation Officer Richard Ramlall gave a brief history of the association. He emphasised the significance of an early formation and felt the executives really worked with great dedication to reach to this much-deserved level.
“Prior to the formation of the SCA, there were only 15 known clubs and the members were all residents of the city of Scarborough but playing in a different league; the Scarborough Recreation and Park Department later decided to umbrella all known cricket clubs in Scarborough to form what is now known as the Scarborough Cricket Association,” Ramlall revealed.
Samaroo reserved special mention to the loyal sponsors for their continued and unwavering support in 2013 and he had his deepest gratitude to them all.
Some of those are as follows: Active Green Ross, Paradise Travel, Norman Sue, Action Honda, Shiv Persaud of PRIMERICA, Caribbean Wave, S&S Trophy, and L.R. General Contracting among others.