TORONTO, Canada – President of the Ontario Masters Softball Cricket Clubs (OMSCC) Azeem Karamat Khan is upbeat about the level of cricket in the Masters league, pointing out that it has improved tremendously in 2018.

Khan made the disclosure at last Saturday night’s 18th annual presentation, dinner and dance held at the Queen Palace Banquet Hall, Scarborough here.
According to Khan, “I think we saw the most exciting semi-finals and finals ever and to me all 28 teams were winners. Think about it, the fact that you have a team in this league and enjoy your boyhood sport, add the competitive spirit – that’s what our league is all about.”
Khan singled out the outstanding performance of the Royal Canadian Masters (RCM) team for special mention, recognising them for being the first Canadian team to win an international tournament.

The RCM accomplished the remarkable feat in only their second outing to international games, winning the Over-50 division in the New York Softball Cricket League (NYSCL) tournament, last July.
The OMSCC president also disclosed that the dates for the staging of Toronto Cup 3 have been finalised with the tournament set for August 30-31 and September 1, 2019.
A significant change in the format will see the Masters division allowing for Over-40 players and not Over-45 as was played in the two previous competitions. Khan also expects the OMSCC to participate in the South Florida tournament, set for April 11-13, 2019.

Touching on the Care Fund, which was established a few years ago, Khan said contributions were made to a few needy organisations in Guyana, including the Shaheed Girls Orphanage at Ogle, East Coast Demerara, which was recently destroyed by fire. Other contributions will also be made shortly.
Apart from congratulating all the participating teams, Khan saluted the Division One winners Warriors Sports Club and Division Two champions Ramblers for their splendid performances in the playoff finals.

Khan also pointed to the introduction of the first-ever Over-60 game, played during the staging of the Inter-county tournament and according to him there will be a few more games next year.
The OMSCC president also acknowledged the contributions of his hard-working board members and the invaluable support from the several sponsors and looked forward to their continued assistance in 2019.

The sponsors include Active Green & Ross (Errol Hussein), Starlite and Cabana restaurants, Kwik Staff Employment Agency, Trophy Stall (Guyana), Nirad Lall, Meadowbank Asset Management, Norman Sue Bakery, Nasser Baksh, and Nari Khan.
The Norman Sue Spirit Award, given annually to a worthy individual who has played a big role both on and off the field, was awarded to OMSCC treasurer Khem Singh by the late businessman’s daughter Kim Sue. Singh was, however, absent from the function because of ill health.