Cricket Canada has paid tribute to longtime Centurion Cricket Club stalwart and Toronto & District League Board Member, Wijay Senathirajah, who passed away on Tuesday August 16, 2022. He was 59.
Wijay Senathirajah was one of the initial members of the Centurions Cricket Club which was founded in 1987. Centurion’s teams have been active participants in the Toronto & District League’s competitions since the Club was formed, winning several Division titles in the process.
Wijay also became a Toronto & District League Board Member in the early nineties and served with distinction in that capacity throughout the three-plus decades that have passed since then.
He also had active administrative roles at both the Provincial (Cricket Ontario) and National (Cricket Canada) levels.
He served extensively as Manager of the Canadian National U19 teams from 2010 – 2020, the activities of which included participation at the ICC’s bi-annual World Cups for that age level. He was also appointed as Manager of the Canadian National Men’s Senior Team for its 2015 Tour to Scotland.
One of the many highlights of Wijay’s outstanding cricket administration career was his involvement with the Canadian-hosted, world-recognized, Global T20 (GT20) tournament. He was the Team Liaison for the Montreal Tigers during the tournament’s 2018 Inaugural Season and was subsequently appointed as its Assistant Team Manger for the 2019 GT20 second season.
Rashpal Bajwa, Cricket Canada President, paid tribute.
Bajwa said:
“Wijay was a loyal son and self-less servant of Canadian cricket. He had a tremendous love of the game, and a profound knowledge of its administrative needs. He epitomized the values of cricket both off and on the field and was an outstanding ambassador for the sport. At the Club, League, Provincial and National levels as an administrator and team manager, he demonstrated his ongoing love for the game by his vision and dedication. Wijay’s legacy is, therefore, one of service and dedication to Canadian cricket. On behalf of myself, Cricket Canada’s Board of Directors and our entire Canadian cricket community, I hereby extend our deepest and sincerest condolences to his family and friends.”