By Frederick Halley
WHEN Vinashkor ‘Bay’ Khemraj migrated to Canada from Guyana in 1992, he came with some knowledge about the sport, albeit from an administrative level, having played a huge role in the formation of the Lusignan Sports Club in his homeland.

According to Khemraj, at the age of 15, he was instrumental in the formation of one of the top clubs in Guyana and still plays a supporting role whenever he has the opportunity to do so.

Khemraj pointed out that he was a member of the Lusignan Sports Club Wight and Northcote Cups teams and was mainly a ‘change’ bowler with his left-arm medium pacers and knew little about batting then and is still considered a permanent number 11.

Three years after his entry into Canada, Khemraj became a member of Kaieteur Sports Club and started his career in the Scarborough Cricket Association (SCA).
An exponent in the art of swing bowling, the left-armer thus became a permanent member of Kaieteur and on May 15, he marked a significant milestone, 30 years since he has been tasked with opening the bowling for one of the oldest clubs in the association.

Khemraj marked the occasion in grand style, claiming an incredible seven for 46 in 8.5 overs as Kaieteur International B (formerly Kaieteur Sports Club) defeated Toronto Lions by a massive 280 runs in their First Division fixture, played at the Ellesmere North ground.

Set a daunting 353 for victory after another veteran, Nate Anandjit, had plundered eight fours and an equal number of sixes in a masterful 107 off 94 balls and teenager Lincoln Hotiram’s sparkling 85, Toronto Lions made an inauspicious start to their First Division season and were routed for a paltry 73.

According to one of the founders and long-standing members of Kaieteur Sports Club, Bisham Singh, Khemraj came at an opportune time when the club was just formed.
According to Singh, who is also the current vice-president of both the SCA and the Canada Cricket Umpires Association (CCUA), as a genuine swing bowler, Khemraj was always given the new ball by all Kaieteur Sports Club captains until he himself became the leader of the team and was always among the wickets.

Singh pointed out that Khemraj featured prominently almost every year at both the Kaieteur and SCA annual presentations as his figures were always “top of the charts”.
Singh disclosed that when he served as president of Kaieteur, Khemraj was considered his “right-hand man” in areas of sponsorships and fund-raisers. “He continues to shepherd the club since my retirement.”

Apart from representing Kaieteur International B, Khemraj also made his debut for the SCA Over-50 team in their opening match of the 2022 season, bagging two for 10 in his allotted five overs as his team made light work of Kokuvil Sports Club. The defending champions batted first and posted 155 for five in 20 overs and shut out their opponents for a paltry 65.

Khemraj, however, had a misfortune, suffering a dislocated shoulder while fielding but fortunately for him, he should be fit to play in the second fixture, set for June 5.