By Frederick Halley
THREE players who ply their trade in the Scarborough Cricket Association (SCA) were deservedly rewarded for their selections to participate in the upcoming ICC Under-19 World Cup, set to be staged in the Caribbean during January/February next year.

At an impressive ceremony, staged at the Avenue Restaurant, Scarborough on Sunday, Matthew Nandu, Arjuna Sukhu and Ethan Gibson were the recipients of cash incentives and plaques, compliments of the SCA.
Former Canadian wicketkeeper/batter Surendra Seeraj, who will serve as assistant coach for the Canada Under-19 team and who is also a long-serving player, was presented with a plaque for his sterling contributions to the game.

Seeraj had the unique distinction of captaining the SCA Over-50 team to championship honours in the inaugural tournament held this year and he also played in the winning Kaieteur International B First Division team.

Despite living in Canada where he started his cricketing career, Nandu, who also plays club cricket in Guyana and has represented the country at the youth level, will don colours for the regional side while Sukhu and Gibson are part of the Canadian Under-19 15-man squad.

Nandu is also the son of former Guyana First-Class leg-spinner Arjune Nandu who had an outstanding Under-19 career for his country before migrating to Canada where he also represented the North American country.

The left-handed opener, who also bowls off-spin, played a major role in Kaieteur International B capturing the 2021 SCA First Division title, excelling with both bat and ball.

Significantly, the youthful Sukhu, whose father Kishav Sukhu is of Guyanese origin, led Kaieteur to championship honours, excelling in both the middle-order and with his medium pacers.

The left-handed Gibson, who also bowls leg-spin, has been a prominent member of several SCA youth teams and joined Palace Panthers during the 2021 season.

An elated SCA president, Shiv Persaud, congratulated the trio on their selections, pointing out that the association was very proud of them since the body had played a significant part in their development. He was confident that the players will perform creditably at the prestigious tournament.

Persaud urged the players to never forget where they came from and to always cultivate positive attitudes as this will assist them every step of the way. He urged them to always ask questions from their coaches and superiors since this plays a major part in achieving recognition and helps you to become good leaders.

Assistant Canadian coach Seeraj recalled that when he represented Canada at the Under-19 level he was the only Canadian-born player in the squad. He reflected on the diversity of the present combination which he described as a complete transformation.

Seeraj, who was part of the SCA since he was 12 years old, urged the players to keep working hard since playing at the Under-19 level is certainly not the end as there is much more than the junior level.

Apart from Persaud, the other SCA executives in attendance were Registrar/Statistician Abigail Rajkumar and Grounds Coordinator Calvin Alexander. The parents of all three players were also in attendance.

Canada are placed in Group A alongside defending champions Bangladesh, England and United Arab Emirates (UAE) and will begin the tournament on January 15 against the UAE at Warner Park Stadium, St Kitts and Nevis.

West Indies will launch their campaign against Australia at Guyana National Stadium, Providence on the opening day. West Indies are in Group D with Australia, Scotland and Sri Lanka.