By Frederick Halley

TORONTO, Canada — Buoyed by the success of the inaugural Toronto Cup, staged in 2015, the executives of the Ontario Masters Softball Cricket Clubs (OMSCC) are extremely confident that its second edition, set for the first weekend in August will be a grand affair.
This assurance was given at last Sunday’s annual general meeting of the OMSCC, held at the Birkdale Community Centre, Scarborough here where preliminary plans were disclosed by both president Azeem Khan and vice-president Paul Jaman.
According to Jaman, despite the success of the tournament in 2015, which saw New York Enforcers emerge champions in the Open category and Our Own claim the Masters title, the OMSCC has no intention of sitting on its laurels but intends to make the Caribana weekend showcase even better.
Jaman also pointed out that there are plans to have an entertainment segment between innings during the staging of the two finals, which are set for the University of Toronto ground on Sunday, August 6 but this depends entirely on sponsorship which the OMSCC is currently pursuing. He also gave the undertaking that grounds required for the three-day affair have already been secured.
The vice-president also disclosed that while the main committee to deal with the running of the tournament has already been set up, the OMSCC is in much need of sponsorship and is seeking the assistance of members in this vital area.
Teams from Guyana, New York and Florida have already indicated their interests in participating and will join their counterparts from Canada in what is expected to be a riveting weekend of softball cricket.
Meanwhile, president Khan also disclosed, that through the initiative and sponsorship of Reliance Lions, there are plans to stage a Family Day. He, however, said further discussions are to be held with members of the club to finalise the date and venue.
Khan also told members of plans to introduce a “captain’s trophy” as a special incentive for the most outstanding of the 2017 season. This will, however, not be based solely on statistics but on general demeanour and conduct. The president once again stressed the importance of good behaviour and cleanliness at venues, pointing to previous complaints from school authorities and city officials.
Jaman also alluded to the fact that the league almost lost St Bede’s (a school ground) because broken bottles, resulting from drinking at the venue and urged members to desist from such behaviour. Despite these lapses, Jaman said 2016 was a great year for the OMSCC and implored players to “let’s make 2017 another great season”.
Prior to the election of office-bearers for 2017, a proposal for an elected official from another cricket organisation to be allowed to hold an executive position on the OMSCC board was voted down. The president also took the opportunity to present a medal to treasurer Feizal Bacchus for his outstanding contribution to the organisation as treasurer and to the website.
Vice-president Jaman, secretary Khem Singh, treasurer Feizal Bacchus and Over-50 coordinator Dickey Singh were all returned to their respective posts unopposed while the post of president was not contested based on the OMSCC’s constitution.
Hardat Ramcharran was appointed the new umpires coordinator, replacing Ram Prashad who was eligible to serve another year but resigned for personal reasons. A new post, hat of website content administrator/statistician, went to Patrick Prashad.
The disciplinary committee, which is chaired by vice-president Jaman, includes Ganesh Ramraj, Krishna Sarju, Bobby Ramlagan and Ramcharran.