…as East West stage another unruly protest

TORONTO, Canada – The Scarborough Cricket Association (SCA) 2014 cricket season ended on a sour note here on Sunday, compliments of East West Cricket Club.
Seemingly staring certain defeat at the hands of eventual Premier League winners Hawaiian Arctic Cricket Club (HACC), the unruly players staged an unbelievable display in full view of the hundreds of spectators who had flocked the

Ashtonbee ground to witness what promised to be a keenly contested final between the two top teams.
Irked by a decision which saw the umpire rule not out to a vociferous caught-behind appeal off number three batsman Reyaz Prahalad, the East West players proceeded to display unsportsmanlike behaviour, storming and pleading with the umpire to change his original decision.
When this was not accomplished the players turned their attention to the stumps at the batsman’s end, uprooting them in the process.
The behavioural eruption forced the umpires to award the game to HACC with the score on 27 for one in pursuit of the paltry 127 all out in 42.1 overs made by East West. Former Guyana and West Indies ‘A’ team opener Krishna Arjune was undefeated on 14 when the game was aborted.
The victory catapulted HACC to an unprecedented fifth consecutive title while soaring to 17 wins in a row this season.
East West had earlier won the toss and opted to take first knock on a splendid day, looking more like Summer despite it being Fall. They huffed and puffed their way to an inadequate score and signs of what was to come were apparent, when they felt that one of their top batsmen was wrongly given out lbw. The tension was obviously brewing and came to a crescendo when the appeal for caught-behind was disallowed.
Several of the East West batsmen had starts but failed to capitalise with Younus Motara (27), Junaid Motara (20 not out), Shakir Mohammed (22) being their best performers.
The batting was undermined by a combination of team effort, led by off-spinner Harrinarine Chattergoon who finished with the impressive figures of four for 25 from nine overs. He received valuable support from medium pacer Chidanand Shiwram two for 19, left-arm spinner Mahadeo Moonsar two for 23 and seamer Zaheer Allard two for 30 after the game had been reduced to 45 overs.
While this writer was not present at the 2011 final, which featured the same two teams, a very reliable source indicated that a similar occurrence took place and the league apparently failed to act.
According to the source, East West vehemently protested a run-out decision which went against them and again uprooted the stumps and even went further by allegedly making contact with one of the umpires. The source further pointed out that after intervention from the police, HACC agreed to continue the game although it was awarded to them and went on to win quite easily.
The source disclosed that the league failed to take any decisive action and this may have given East West licence to continue their unsportsmanlike attitude.
The victory was followed by wild celebrations from the players, officials and supporters of HACC with an obviously emotional HACC president Archie Mohan expressing dismay at what transpired from the predominantly Indo/Pakistani side. Mohan stressed that his players had done so much to achieve their success over the past five seasons and he was extremely disappointed how the game ended.
Mohan, however, reserved special accolades for his players, officials and supporters who have played major and active roles in HACC over the years..
Apart from Mohan, who hails from Cotton Tree Village, West Coast Berbice, other key officials include vice-president Iqbal Rehaman from Dundee, East Coast Demerara, Eon Gunraj secretary/treasurer from Wales, West Bank Demerara, Doodnauth Singh from Wakeanaam, Essequibo and Rishi Samuel also from Wakeanaam.
The main sponsors were also highlighted, among them being IR Construction, Hawaiian Arctic Inc. and R&R Auto Repairs.
During the 2014 season, the club also had the services of overseas-based Guyanese players Chidanandan Shiwram and Krishna Arjune while Trevon Garraway also participated in two games and they too were recognised for their contribution.
During the presentation, Harrinarine Chattergoon was named MVP of the final while all-rounder Zaheer Allard was voted the MVP of the season. Chattergoon was awarded Cdn$300 by Munaf Khan, Sales representative of Axion Millwright while Vishal Ramsuchit, former owner of Trappers Restaurant handed over $200 to the former Guyana youth opener.

(By Frederick Halley)