By Frederick Halley

TORONTO, Canada — The Ontario Cricket Association (OCA) Under-19 final, featuring hosts Scarborough Cricket Association (SCA) and Ottawa Valley Cricket Council (OVCC) turned out to be a lop-sided affair at the Ashtonbee Cricket ground last Sunday, with SCA recording a whopping 213-run victory over their counterparts in the 40-over contest.Led by a remarkable all-round performance by Trushil Patel, who slammed a brilliant 74 and returned to capture five for 11, SCA made light work of OVCC who harboured thoughts of taking back the winning trophy to their hometown.
Winning the toss and opting to take first strike, SCA reached a challenging 277 for eight in 38 overs when time expired. OVCC were required to chase 292 for an improbable win after and an additional 14 penalty runs were added to the original total. They succumbed to 79 all out in 27.5 overs, much to the disappointment of the spectators.

OVCC’s reply started disastrously when their skipper Jack Batstone was brilliantly run-out in the first over via a direct throw from Patel at short mid-off. Batstone, who also opened the bowling and also kept wicket, didn’t face a ball.
The captain’s dismissal was followed by a steady procession as OVCC never recovered. The all-round attack of SCA kept them in check while picking up wickets regularly.
Patel, in particular, mixed his medium pacers with clever slow deliveries, as several of the OVCC batsmen were befuddled by his variations. In the end, he finished with five for 11 from six overs while left-arm spinner Thuvaragaan Pathmeswaran supported with two for three from four overs. Suvansh Chhabra (17) was the top-scorer for OVCC.
Earlier, SCA were given a rollicking start of 114 off 93 balls by openers Towfeeq Ahmed (58) and skipper Jordan Pirali (41) as OVCC paid the price for letting both batsmen off.
Ahmed, the more attacking of the two, struck six fours and a six in his 58-ball knock while Pirali’s innings included four fours. The two set the stage for Patel who clobbered seven fours and a solitary six from just 56 balls as he raced to 74.
Vihan Samararawickrama ended with four for 49 from six overs but the pick of the bowlers was off-spinner Cole Batstone with three for 38 from his allotment of eight overs.
At the presentation ceremony which followed, Patel swept all the individual prizes for his team — Best Bowler, Best Batsman and Most Valuable Player for the winning side while Cole Batstone was awarded the Best Bowler and MVP and Suvansh Chhabra took the prize for the Best Batsman on the losing side. Members and officials of the winning team were also recipients of medals.
The match was graced by the presence of Federal Member of Parliament for Scarborough Centre, Salma Zahid, who pointed out that she is an avid cricket fan, recalling when her country of birth had won the World Cup under captain Imran Khan. She also urged the players to continue the path they had started and promised help in the furtherance of the sport.
OCA acting president Melvin John also congratulated both teams on their participation while saying both the SCA and OVCC should be very proud of their achievements. John also thanked sponsors Centennial College Alumni Association and Habib Canadian Bank for making the game a big success. His company, Power Play Sports also contributed as well as Mazz Mark Auto and Paul Peter Insurit Group Pan Express Travel and Shaeen and Tikka Kabab.
SCA president Shiv Persaud also lauded the sponsors, players, OCA and members of his executive for the roles they played in making the game a reality. Persaud challenged the players to build on their starts while at the same time have fun and be disciplined while engaged in the sunshine game.
Centennial College’s Dana Gour and Naveed Ul-Hassan of Habib Bank were also on hand to witness the day’s play.
The SCA team was managed by Vish Jadunauth with Deo Samaroo as his assistant while Danny Singh served as coach and Yunus Motara as assistant. Gerard Fernandez coached the OVCC side with Darlene Batstone as the team coordinator.