TORONTO, Canada – Defending Scarborough Cricket Association (SCA) Premiere League champions Hawaiian Arctic Cricket Club (HACC) started the 2015 season in a blaze of glory with a lopsided 254-run victory over Deccan Hawks at the Ashtonbee ground here last Saturday.

Led by superb centuries from opener Reyaz Prahalad and Azhad Amidon, HACC piled up an imposing 332 for one in 44 overs after which their opponents failed to complete the allotted 50 overs in the allotted time. Deccan Hawks were limited to 124 for nine after their target had increased to 378, allowing for the imposed penalty.
Skipper and former Guyana youth player Hemnarine Chattergoon captured two for 19 from his 10 overs while Iqbal Rahaman supported with two for 34, also from 10.
Earlier, Prahalad, who finished on an unbeaten 154, his first century in the SCA league, shared an opening stand of 94 with former Guyana opener Krishna Arjune (26). That was the only wicket to fall for the champions as Prahalad and Amidon (121) featured in an unbroken partnership of 238 for the second wicket, pounding the bowlers to all parts of the lush outfield.
Prahalad struck 10 fours and three sixes off 154 balls while Amidon’s knock contained 12 fours and one six and came off 96 deliveries.
HACC are aiming for their sixth consecutive title, having ruled the roost for the past five years and last Saturday’s victory was also the club’s 18th on the trot. They oppose Durham at the same venue on Saturday.
Meanwhile the SCA has instituted a Cdn$700 administrative fee on East West Cricket Club for the shocking behaviour of their players in last year’s final against HACC.
According to a release from the SCA, the fee is a one-time penalty and “none of your club’s players will be transferred to another club in the SCA unless the player contributes $50 towards this penalty.”
The SCA also pointed out that failure to abide by the penalty will affect the club’s re-admittance to the body in the future.
Seemingly staring certain defeat at the hands of HACC in last season’s final, East West staged an unbelievable display in full view of the hundreds of spectators who had flocked the ground to witness what promised to be a keenly contested affair between the top two teams.
Irked by a decision which saw the umpire rule not-out to a vociferous caught-behind appeal off number three batsman 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 pattern 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.
East West had subsequently withdrawn from participating in the 2015 season.

By Frederick Halley