IN 1996, Hemnarine Chattergoon became the first Guyanese batsman to register centuries
in his first two innings of a Regional Under-19 tournament, a record that still stands to this day. The opponents were Barbados and the Windward Islands.
Regarded by many as the most naturally talented of the Chattergoon brothers, Hemnarine was
destined to represent Guyana at the First Class level with the likelihood of donning West Indies colours.
Following a successful 1996 regional tournament, played in Jamaica, Hemnarine was awarded a place in the West Indies youth team to oppose Pakistan, and justified his place with a magnificent even hundred at the Kensington Oval, Barbados against the likes of Abdul Razaq and Shahid Afridi. As fate would have it, the right-handed batsman migrated to Canada shortly after, thereby ending whatever chances he had of playing for Guyana and the West
Indies senior teams. Incidentally, the West Indies Youth team also included former Guyana and West Indies batsman, Ramnaresh Sarwan, who stroked 102 in the first innings, batting at number six; former Guyana opener Azeemul Haniff who scored 100 in the second innings after 51 in the first; wicketkeeper Vishal Nagamootoo and leg-spinner Andy
Chinsammy.
Emanating from the Albion, Berbice family of cricketers, siblings Sewnarine went on to
represent West Indies in four Tests and 18 One- Day Internationals and Ramnarine played at the Regional one-day level for the Combined Campuses and Colleges, while Harrinarine captained the Guyana Under-15 team and also represented his homeland at the Under-19 level.
The eldest of the Chattergoon brothers, Hemnarine never enjoyed the kind of success he was anticipating following his migration to Canada and, according to him, several factors were responsible for this, including work-related issues and the inability to put in enough
practice. His only First Class match for Canada was against the United Arab Emirates at the Maple Leaf ground, King City, in 2007 which saw him scoring a mere 10 runs.
In 2009, at the age of 31, Chattergoon was appointed to lead Vikings in the Elite division of the Toronto & District Association (T&DCA) tournament. The strong Vikings team included former Guyana and West Indies youth player, Zamal Khan; former Guyana captain, Damodar Daesrath; former Guyana First-Class pacer, Jeremy Gordon; former Guyana Under-19 left-arm pacer, Naresh Roopnarine; ex-Guyana and West Indies B team keeper, Kenneth
Wong, and former National youth players, Abdel Fudadin and Kevin Murray.
The now 44-year-old Chattergoon also had the unique distinction of leading Hawaiian Arctic Cricket Club (HACC) to four of their six consecutive championship victories in the Premier League of the Scarborough Cricket Association (SCA) tournaments before retiring
at the end of the 2016 season. In the 2014 Premier League semi-final, Chattergoon was at his
imperious best, slamming a scintillating unbeaten 217 versus Bawa XI, leading from the front as HACC clobbered their opponents by 136 to reach the final, which they duly won.
Chattergoon, who still plies his trade mainly in the softball arena, and is regarded as one of the best players in the grassroots game, has won several accolades representing Dant and Sunshine in the Ontario Softball Cricket League and Our Own and more recently Canadian