Madholall brothers to honour late sibling

… Stage set for big memorial softball tournament

TORONTO, Canada – The Reliance Sports Club ground, Essequibo, will be a hive of activity on Sunday, August 3 when the eagerly-anticipated Shivanandan Madholall memorial softball tournament takes place.

Four teams, featuring hosts Reliance Sports Club, Wild Oats, and two teams from Georgetown and Essequibo are expected to square off in a hotly-contested 10-over competition.
In addition, two female sides will show off their wares in an exhibition 10-over affair.
The day’s activities have been organised by brothers Rovendra, still an active softball cricketer in Toronto, and journalist Ravendra who also resides here. Both will be in Guyana for the auspicious occasion.
The late Shivananand, who died last year September following a bout of malaria, represented Guyana at both the Under-15 and Under-19 levels and was also a member of the Essequibo senior Inter-county team.
The day’s activity is a follow-up to a magazine, Cricket Vibes, which was launched in Toronto a few months ago and is intended as a fund-raising effort for the immediate family of the late 30-year-old brother who leaves to mourn his wife and two small children.
Ravendra Madholall, a former Guyana Chronicle and Guyana Times sports journalist, and who was also editor of the magazine, pointed out in the editorial that he had mixed emotions when he started the project as he never envisaged doing something of that nature for one of his brothers. “I was very excited to make a tangible contribution to the game of cricket about which I am always passionate.”
Madholall also paid glowing tributes to the advertisers and writers including former Guyana Chronicle Senior Sports journalist and current freelancer Frederick Halley, former Essequibo Inter-county batsman Raul Khan, ardent West Indies cricket fan Roger Sawh, former Essequibo senior Inter-county batsman Elroy Stephney and former player and administrator Roger Persaud.
Among the features is a tribute to Madholall from his former Essequibo Under-19 teammate Clain Williams who was shockingly left out from the Guyana Under-19 side in 1999, the same year his countryman made his debut in Barbados. Clain, who now resides in New York, represented the USA in several International Cricket Council (ICC) tournaments.
Williams recalled featuring in an Under-19 trial game with Madholall and smashing 138 while also scoring a few other half-centuries but failed to make the Guyana squad. So impressed was Williams’ partner, he presented his countryman with a bat after the game.
The 28-page glossy magazine also features a message from Guyana’s Honorary Consul General to Toronto, Sattie Sawh, who emphasised that the consulate always encourages diverse and energetic ways of promoting Guyana and all things Guyanese “and this professionally produced magazine will no doubt help to spread the good name of Guyana in its own way.”
According to Sawh, “While his loss is saddening, it is important to shed light on a feature of his life and the lives of so many; that was truly important – the wonderful game of cricket.”

(By Frederick Halley)

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