The Ontario Round-arm Softball Cricket Association (ORSCA) staged the grand finale of its ninth T20I softball cricket tournament at the picturesque Lancaster Park field in Mississauga on Sunday September 22.
Scenes from the ORSCA final
There, in glorious sunshine and a cool breeze that made for comfortable temperature, the Masters Cricket Club defeated the Cambridge Jaguars in a tense see-saw battle that saw the Jaguars stage two rear-guard actions before finally going down by 4 wickets.
As they swayed to the sweet music being played between overs, the large crowd of vocal spectators cheered lustily for every boundary scored and every wicket taken; and above the din was colourful commentary by none other than the inimitable Aftab Shamsudeen.
All this made for ample proof that round-arm softball recreational cricket is on the rise. This match represented the 9th finals being staged by the ORSCA; which started with just 10 teams, and progressed to this year with registration closing at 27 teams, and next year’s goal being set at getting 32 teams to participate.
It was a star-studded match-up between Masters CC and Cambridge Jaguars, and some notable former Guyana and Canada players were featured. Although the Cambridge Jaguars gave of their best in this tense contest, the Masters held their nerves, with the experience of those former national players proving to be the vital ingredient that made them prevail by four wickets.
The ceremony to open the contest was performed by ORSCA President, Mr. Arvin Persaud. The umpires for the match were longstanding ORSCA members Mitch Bacchus and Sanjeev Ramnarine. The other match officials included scorers Kay Sukdeo and Mo Nazir; linesmen Trevor Chakalall, Dinesh Ajodha, Neilon Williams and Wasim Saffar; musician DJ Munir Bashir, and roving photographer Shaun Roberts.
Masters captain Mark Nazir won the toss and immediately elected to field. This decision proved correct, as Cambridge Jaguars were reduced to 22 for 5 in 7 overs, and then 42 for 6 in 10 overs.
Although Amzad Haniff started the destruction, it was the young, pacy 17-year-old teenager Sachin who delivered the telling blows to the Jaguars’ batting lineup. Playing his first season in ORSCA, Sachin bowled fast, flat and accurately to remove former Albion players Roopnarine Lalbehari (C) and Zulfikar Rozan in a spell wherein defense was the only option.
However, former BVI player Vijay Jhappan was able to weather the storm before unleashing some lusty blows on the bowling. Striking 11 huge sixes in a game-changing partnership with Jerry Pooran, Vijay scored 87 runs to see the Jaguars to 163 in their allotted 20 overs.
For the Masters, Amzad Haniff, Satrohan (Sachin) Doodnauth and Mark Nazir each took two wickets.
Aided by some wayward bowling and poor fielding from the Jaguars, Masters started their chase positively, former Guyana youth player Eyaaz Mohamed and Imran Ali putting on 40 runs before Imran was run out.
Azam Haniff struck 6 sixes in a breezy 42 that added impetus to the chase, and although star batsman Bobby Budhram fell cheaply, Masters were well placed at 141 for 5 in 13 overs.
Anil Ramoutar (31) and Kumar Doodnauth (17) were in total control of the game before Jaguars staged another determined fightback, Jerry Pooran and Mahendra Jaipersaud conceding just 10 runs in 5 overs while reaping two wickets in the process.
Eventually Mark Nazir (C) and Abdool Samad (former Canada national player) saw Masters home, to send their many supporters and large camp into joyful celebration as they lifted the trophy for the first time after some previous attempts.
The MVP honours in this finale were shared by Satrohan Doodnauth (bowling), who provided the opening salvo for Masters in his spell of 2 for 15 from 4 overs, and Vijay Jhappan (batting), who kept Jaguars in the hunt with a measured but devastating knock of 87.
