…Brampton Mayor Brown promises to provide more facilities

By Frederick Halley
THE Brampton Etobicoke District Cricket League (BEDCL) lived up to its billing as the largest cricket league in North America with an elaborate Awards Night, held last Saturday at the spacious Verdi Convention Centre, Derry Road, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.

Blessed with the presence of enigmatic Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown, who literally drove to the occasion after arriving in Canada from an overseas visit, the spectacular event saw over 600 trophies and plaques being distributed to worthy players and officials in a league which had a record 234 teams at the end of the 2022 season.

An elated Guyana-born President, Praimp Persaud, obviously proud of the achievements of the BEDCL, which he has led for more than three decades, pulled no strings in praising the efforts of Mayor Brown who he said doesn’t t only make promises but ensures they are fulfilled.

Persaud pointed out that since Brown became Mayor of Brampton, there have been significant improvement in the accessing and maintenance of grounds while some were fitted with lights.
Mayor Brown, for his part, while praising Persaud and his executives for doing an exemplary job in managing the affairs of the BEDCL, gave the assurance that further assistance in the acquiring of more grounds, batting cages and night facilities, are on the horizon, prompting spontaneous and loud applause from the appreciative audience.

Apart from the hundreds of players and clubs who were recipient of awards, Special Presidential awards in the form of plaques were also presented to BEDCL Vice-president Gokul Kamat, Treasurer Kumi Jasavala, Secretary Manish Tomer and Statistician Denny Eapen and these were handed out by Mayor Brown.

Past executive, Arslan Baig, who served as Umpires Coordinator, was also lavishly praised for his outstanding service and was recognized with a plaque. In response, Baig said he was honoured to receive the award after serving for 15 years. “I am no longer on the board but I will keep promoting the League and my heart will still be here.”

The Umpire of the Year award went Harish Shivana, Consistent Umpire of the Year to Muhammad Haroon and Best Debutant Umpire to Piyush Mahendru.

Toronto Woodlands Cricket Association carted off the 50-over Elite Playoffs title with Cambridge being the runners-up. The Premiere 50-over Playoffs title went to Fateh CC with National CC taking the runners-up spot.

The Division 1 50-over Playoffs winners were Cosmos CC while the runners-up were Punjab Battalion CC. In Division 2, Toronto Spartans emerged winners with Toronto Timberwolves the runners-up. Division 3 saw Patriots Cricket Academy taking the title with Royal Challengers occupying the runners-up spot while the Division 4 winners were Brampton Reapers CC with Vikings X1 placing second.

In the Regular season, Toronto Woodlands CC were clear winners with Jhanvi CC runners-up. The Premier Division went to National Cricket Club with Redhawks taking the second position.
Cosmos CC won Division 1 while Punjab Batallion CC were the runners-up. In Division 2, Rebels United took top honours with Toronto Timberwolves the runners-up. Patriots Cricket Academy won Division 3 while MYCC were the runners-up. Jhanvi took care of Division 4 with Brampton Reapers placing second.

Players scoring the most runs were Abhishekh Patel (Elite), Mandeep Singh (Premiere), Vinay Kumar Devisetty (Division 1), Hub Bandesha (Division 2), Yashkumar Patel (Division 3) and Ramandeep Singh (Division 4).

Players taking the most wickets were Mohammed Shariq (Elite), Tushar Patel (Premier), Arsalan Pervaiz (Division 1), Sharaiz Atif (Division 2), Zakir Gosla (Division 3) and Alambir Singh (Division 4).

The Most Valuable Players (MVP) awards in the 50 overs went to Shubham Sharma (Elite), Tushar Patel (Premiere), Jobanpreet Singh (Division 1), Hub Bandesha (Division 2), Taimoor Mirza (Division 3) and Nirav Dhaliwal (Division 4). Bandesha also copped the award in the T20s. The T25 MVPS were: Mohammad Kyber (Super Elite), Anupam Gambhir (Elite), Gursimran Singh (Premier), Pankaj Saini (Division 1), Navshaan Singh (Division 2) and Mukul Bhatia (Division 3).

Among the special invitees were Cricket Canada General Manager Ingleton Liburd, Cricket Ontario President Shah Zafar, Toronto District Cricket Association (TDCA) President Mohammed Shaikh and Ontario Cricket Academy owner Derek Perera. Also in attendance were Brampton City Councillors Gurpartap Singh Toor and Navjit Kaur Brar, who handed over an appreciation plaque to BEDCL President Persaud. Several teams also received cricket bags and gear, compliments of Cricketgear.

The awards ceremony was returning indoors for the first time since 2019 following the COVID-19 pandemic.