By Stan Walker
Former Pakistani batting star Zaheer Abbas tops this year’s class of nominees for induction into the Cricket Hall of Fame. The annual ceremony is set for Saturday, October 3, at the Sheraton Hotel, Bradley Field Airport, Windsor, Connecticut.
One of Pakistan great Zaheer Abbas will be inducted in Cricket Hall of Fame in Connecticut next month. Photo: ICC
Born July 24, 1947, Abbas is regarded as one of the finest batsman produced by that country. He is among few professional cricketers who used to wear spectacles. In 1982/1983, he became the first batsman to score three consecutive centuries in one-day internationals.
Five other individuals, Dr. Geoff Edwards of Canada, Lionel Bedessee, Linval DaCosta, Godfrey Mitchell and Neville Flowers have been nominated to be the local inductees for this year.
Dr. Edwards, who was born in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, served as Cricket Canada’s president for seven years, a director of Ontario Cricket Association for a decade and Chairman of the Hamilton & District Cricket League from 1983-1995. Dr. Edwards participated in the sport at the club and national level where his team mates included wicket-keeper Mike Findlay, who played 10 Tests for the West Indies.
Bedessee, who is from Guyana, pioneered a family business to a monumental success. He started a sporting goods division in 1981 which became the largest supplier of cricketing equipment in Toronto. Bedessee, a lover of the game, played a pivotal role in the promotion of the game in Canada.
A Foundation member of Wembley Cricket Club in New York, DaCosta, who came to the U.S. in 1950 from Jamaica, apart from playing successfully in the league’s from 1952 until his retirement in the 1980s, has held several executive positions in the club and the New York Cricket League.
Flowers, a Physical Therapist, in his young days were considered an outstanding football (soccer) player, and a very accomplished cricketer. He showed his talents playing for a number of teams shortly after his arrival in New York in the 1960s. Recognized as a great leader for his teams and his business, Flowers is said to have influenced a number of youngsters who he met while playing the game to become doctors, lawyers, police officers and to accomplish things they never thought that they would have even attempted without his guidance.
Mitchell, a former police officer in Jamaica, is known for making outstanding contributions in the development of the game in the New York area. Although, he was not a regular player, he is one of the persons who one can look up to when it comes to getting sponsorship for many cricketing events that have taken place in the city.