… Arslan Khan is lone newcomer on executive board

By Frederick Halley

TORONTO, Canada – Barring a lone newcomer in Highland Creek’s Arslan Khan, all other executives of the Scarborough Cricket Association (SCA) were returned unopposed when the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the body took place at the Agincourt Community Centre, Scarborough here last Sunday.

Khan was elected as the association’s Public Relations Officer (PRO)/Marketing, a post held by Abhinav Kavuru who is now solely responsible for association’s website. Previously, Kavuru held all three positions but decision was taken to delink them.
Those returning in the Guyanese-dominated entity include president Shiv Persaud, vice-president Bisham Singh, secretary Eon Gunraj, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Junior Coordinator Vish Jadunauth, Grounds Coordinator/Women’s Division Coordinator Deo Samaroo, Registrar/Statistician Abigail Rajkumar, Assistant Secretary/Assistant to the CFO/Assistant Junior Co-ordinator Matthew Franis and Assistant Grounds Coordinator Fareed Mohamed. Singh and Francis were the only two executives whose posts were not contested at the elections.

In his presidential report, Persaud described 2017 as “a memorable and defining year in which the association underwent several changes to enhance the level of competition, providing a pathway for our players to achieve provincial and national opportunities to further their cricketing career and advance our use of innovative technology”.
According to Persaud as the SCA continued to strive forward with positive momentum, the body became a member of Cricket Ontario, the Provincial Sports Organisation for Cricket in Ontario and a body recognised by Cricket Canada, the National Sports Organisation for Cricket in Canada.

Persaud posited that the decision to become a member of Cricket Ontario “was a step taken to ensure our players, especially the women and juniors were being recognised at the highest level possible. We had eight players who represented SCA at the Cricket Ontario Central T20 competition and six players at the junior level. We are anxiously expecting planning and development meetings for the women players as we move forward in 2018.”

Touching on the improved technology which allows for real time scoring, Persaud disclosed that for the first time in the association, live online scoring was available for a wider platform of supporters to follow but acknowledged that while the SCA had experienced positive feedback, it is still an area that “we continue to work on diligently as there are improvements to be made”.

Persaud congratulated the several teams and various awardees on their accomplishments in 2017 which saw an increase in outstanding individual performances across all categories. “This bodes well for our association going forward as it is both encouraging and rewarding for our players to focus on their continued growth and development.”

The board of executives also came in for high praise as Persaud said they stuck to their task and ensured “we fulfilled our objective of finishing everything we started. For example, we wanted to play our regular season finals at different times and finish our season by October 1. Owing to excellent weather and cooperation, we were able to accomplish both”.
The generous sponsors were also lauded for their positive impact for the sport of cricket and building stronger communities through their philanthropic contributions. “We are optimistic that our planned initiatives for achieving funding will help us to make a larger impact in the Scarborough community,” Persaud assured.
Persaud urged all executives to continue to put the SCA and cricket first before their individual opinions.

“During my term as president, we ran our tournaments without any major dispute and ensured that teams were awarded. I am delighted to say that we have done a great job in following our constitution and playing conditions which have drastically reduced the number of issues raised.”