By Frederick Halley

TORONTO, Canada – Incumbent president of the Scarborough Cricket Association (SCA) Shiv Persaud is entering his second year as head of the body fully confident of further success following what can be considered a fruitful first year at the helm.

In a sterling report at the recently held annual general meeting of the SCA, held at the Agincourt Community Centre, Scarborough, Persaud spoke of the challenges and adversities encountered during the 2016 season and the viable solutions found for them.
According to the Guyanese-born Persaud, “One such instance was our women cricketers being shunned by Cricket Canada in their scheduled game against the touring MCC women’s team. Even though we were disappointed and heartbroken, we became more united. This was evident in the first-ever women’s all-star game in the SCA.”

Persaud also referred to the loss of two playing fields at the Ellesemere ground, one of the SCA’s premiere venues. “This affected the T20 competition and regular season playoffs, as games had to be played in October, long after the cricket season was scheduled to end.”
Persaud pointed out that the challenges allowed him to grow as an individual and leader in the community while putting the SCA first. He commended his executives for their hard work and dedicated service, alluding to the fact that he was proud to have them as part of the body and is anxiously looking forward to their future contributions.

“Prior to the beginning of the 2016 season, our goals were to ensure that the members of the SCA were given the recognition and support they required to succeed and to have confidence in the board of executives. Secondly, it was the time for us to embrace the popularised version of cricket – the T20 format. Lastly, we wanted to ensure that every effort was made to advance the sport amongst juniors and women,” Persaud asserted.

Reflecting on the 2016 season, Persaud disclosed that there were many areas “that we have started planning and exploring to build on our successes in 2017. For example, structuring our junior division for Under-13, Under-16 and Under-19; contesting regular season finals at different times during the season and allowing our women cricketers to play at different venues and possibly games under lights.”

Persaud also reserved special praise for the several generous sponsors and also to the executives who contributed substantial amounts to host events during the 2016 season. “I am grateful for all that you have done and pledge to continue giving my best efforts towards the advancement of cricket in the Greater Toronto Area.”

Persaud told the several clubs present at the meeting that the SCA intends to approach Cricket Canada, the governing body for cricket here with a view of exploring the way forward regarding players eligibility to represent Canada. Once this takes place, the players will be updated as to the progress of the intended talks.

While the SCA is also seeking other venues for the 2017 season, the status of the Ellesmere grounds remain in limbo but according to Persaud, they have approached the authorities concerned but there’s no guarantee that the grounds will be available this year.
Prior to the commencement of elections of office-bearers, a tribute in the form of a minute’s silence was observed for the close relatives of a few members who had passed away.
While Persaud’s post was not up for grabs, based on the constitution of the SCA, vice-president Bisham Singh was re-elected for another two-year term. He will also chair the disciplinary committee.

Mathew Francis, who served as assistant grounds coordinator, is now the assistant secretary/treasurer while Fareed Mohamed takes over as assistant ground coordinator. The new Public Relations Officer (PRO) is Lakshman Srianganathan.
Apart from Persaud, the others retained (based on the constitution) were secretary Eon Gunraj, Chief Financial Officer Vish Jadunauth, Grounds coordinator Deo Samaroo and Registrar/Statistician Abigail Rajkumar.