…Club bestows honour on long-standing CEO

By Frederick Halley
TORONTO, Canada — Former Guyana and West Indies B Team opener Krishna Arjune was adjudged the Most Valuable Player (MVP) when Hawaiian Artic Cricket Club (HACC) held its spectacular annual presentation dinner and dance at the Palace Multi Cultural Centre, Milvan Drive, North York, Toronto here last Saturday night.

On a night when the club was celebrating its unprecedented six consecutive championships in the Scarborough Cricket Association (SCA), it also took the opportunity to honour its long-standing Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Eon Gunraj for his immense contribution over the years.
Arjune, despite missing games during the regular season, was quite instrumental in the playoffs with both bat and ball, culminating with an unbeaten 103 in the final against Scarborough Cricket Club (SCC) on a cold and wintry Saturday in early October, 2015.
Arjune also had the distinction of slamming 132 versus Toronto Smashers in one of the preliminary round games while he had outstanding economical figures of one for 17 from 10 overs in the semi-final versus Highland Creek and two for 19 in nine overs in the final.

Apart from receiving trophies for his efforts, Arjune was also the recipient of a gold bracelet, compliments of Harry Singh’s Jewelry,
In an emotional address, long-standing HACC president Narchand ‘Archie’ Mohan once again showered praises on his charges for continuing to make the HACC family proud while singling out Gunraj for special mention.
In dedicating the sixth title to the unassuming Gunraj, Mohan described him as a brother and friend, who stands for the principles of the game and one who believes in playing the game by the rules. “He has shown us the way and HACC is blessed to have him with us.”
As a token of appreciation, the president handed over the winning trophy that was presented at the SCA awards to Gunraj with an inscription reading: “\If success is a journey then you are the way to discover and experiment it. Your principle and adherence for this game are the sole reasons for our continued success”.
In response, Gunraj played down his role in the club and while being thankful to be recognised, pointed out that the players were responsible for the magnificent showing of HACC over the years. Gunraj himself played a few matches in the 2015 season.
Special awards were also handed out to skipper Hemnarine Chattergoon for his brilliant leadership over the years, including leading the side to the last three championships; Zaheer Allard for being the top all-rounder; veteran Mathew Francis for coming out of retirement and helping the team when in crisis and Ryiad Sattaur for his contribution to the club despite being hearing-impaired. Allard also received a gold bracelet from Harry Singh’s Jewelry.
Touching on the captaincy of Chattergoon, Mohan said he has been an inspiration to the team and hopes he stays on for many years to come. While not committing himself, Chattergoon said he was also proud to be part of the HACC family and thanked his players for the efforts they exhibited, especially in the playoffs when it seemed that the club’s reign of success was being threatened.
All the players and officials also received rings and medals while the main supporters, including the wives of players, were also decorated with medals.