MSCC Presentation, Dinner and Dance – Gobin, Latif and Ramkissoon Police Officer Player of the Year Awards

By Frederick Halley

FORMER Guyana Under-19 player Troy Gobin, softball stalwart Richard Latif and all-rounder Davendra “Skadachie” Ramkissoon won the Player of the Year award when the Ontario Masters Softball Cricket Clubs (OMSCC) held their annual presentation, dinner and dance at the Banquet Hall Estate, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada on Saturday evening.
This occasion marked the first time the activities took place indoors since 2019 following the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Gobin, who led GTA Storm to their second consecutive Over-50 title, registered 342 runs from six innings during regulation time. Besides scoring 102 against Remax All Stars, he also had scores of 77 against Canadian Legends and 94 against Seatown.
Navin Bhup of Ramblers Rampage, who led all scorers with 371 runs from seven innings, went past 60 four times with innings of 82 against Friendship Masters, 79 against KC Stalwarts, 72 against Seatown and 67 against Dirty Dozen. His teammate, Mokeem Sattaur, was the leading bowler, claiming 10 wickets.

GTA Storm’s Uniss Yusuf, who played in just four regular season matches, scored a phenomenal 285 runs during which he was dismissed just once. In addition to his 102 against Seatown, Yusuf also had 89 against Remax All Stars and 89 against Friendship Masters. Like Latif, he was not present to receive his awards.

Latif, who represented the victorious and undefeated Canadian Legends team in Division 1 of the Over-40 category, led the scoring with 283 runs from five innings, with his nearest rival being teammate Chien Gittens, who scored 171 from six strikes. Rovendra Mandolall came third with 152 from four innings. Latif also claimed five wickets to cap a fine all-round season. Warriors’ Ishree Andy Persaud took nine wickets, the most in the division.

It was a sensational year for skipper Ramkisson as apart from being named Player of the Year for Division 2 (Over-40), newcomer Better Hope played the entire season undefeated and then defeated Ramblers Rampage to claim the coveted title.
The veteran campaigner scored 206 runs in five innings, including a top score of 82, and also picked up five wickets while conceding 47 runs. His teammate and former Guyana and West Indies B team batsman, Krishna Arjune, led the batting with 286 runs from seven innings, including a top score of 87. United Cricket Club’s Jano Pando was the leading bowler, capturing 10 wickets from six games.

Special recognition and awards plaques were presented to long-standing member and player John Ten Pow for his “dedication, dedication and perseverance” towards the sport, Ravendra Madholall for “media and exposure of the OMSCC in Guyana and North America”, Bobby Ramlagan for “photography and promotion of OMSCC on social media and Kisho Ramnarine for “photography for our competition.”

In brief remarks, OMSCC president Azeem Khan urged members to help recruit new players in the Over-40 division as he said there has been a marked decline.
However, Khan was pleased with the growth in the over-50 division, which saw eight teams competing this year. On the other hand, Division 1 over 40 had five, while Division 2 consisted of seven.
The President congratulated all the winners, runners-up and participating teams and reminded them that the OMSCC will celebrate its 25th anniversary next year, while hinting that the presentation, dinner and dance will be much more important.
Among those receiving special praise were former President Orin O’Neil, Roger and Ramesh Sunich of Trophy Stall Guyana and Canada and other sponsors who contributed to the success of the evening program.