Having served Canadian cricket, both as a
player and administrator for the past 45
years and still continuing to do so at various
levels, Guyanese-born Praim Persaud is slated
to be inducted into the United States of America
Cricket Hall of Fame when the 39th annual ceremony
takes place on Saturday, October 3. Unlike previous
ceremonies, this year’s induction will be done
via Zoom on Maq TV due to the Covid-19 pandemic
which has plagued most countries since March.
Persaud is credited to have contributed to the
growth, development and visibility of cricket in
two Canadian provinces – Montreal Quebec, for almost
10 years and Ontario, mainly in the Brampton,
Mississauga, Toronto, Etobicoke and other cities
and districts for the last 35 plus years and counting.
Under Praim’s guidance the two then existing
organizations, the Etobicoke & District Cricket
League and the Brampton Cricket Association were
merged into a single entity: the Brampton-Etobicoke
& District Cricket League – at the request of
the City. That merger was both a reflection of Praim
and his associates’ recognition that continuing City
support would be dependent upon demonstrated
growth of cricket as a participation support, as
well as the actual almost geometric increases in the
number of clubs that had been occurring. Persaud
then worked with previous mayors and city representatives
to build the Brampton-Etobicoke & District
Cricket League (BEDC) from 18 teams to a
massive 157 teams, by far the largest in Canada.
Persaud, along with Brampton City officials including
Don Doan (Director of Parks & Recreation),
has also worked diligently to identify and
secure locations for the establishment of additional
cricket grounds. The cricket facilities have
since seen an increase from three privately owned
entities to 17 and counting. As a direct result of
his outstanding efforts and activities, the ebullient
and hard-working Persaud was recently appointed
as a Special Advisor on Cricket to the Mayor
of Brampton Patrick Brown. He has successfully
forged very rewarding partnerships with city
council and all its respective stakeholders in planning,
development, infrastructure and funding, as
well as parks and maintenance – all of whom are
now committed to working with on the current
and future growth of cricket in the City.
Persaud was also directly responsible for Brampton
City’s hosting of the 2019 GT20 Tournament’s
2nd Season. It was his initiative that had brought
then Cricket Canada President Ranjit Saini and
Brampton City Mayor Patrick Brown together for
the initial discussions that subsequently paved the
way for the City’s CAA Center eventually becoming
the Tournament’s venue. When on June 3, the
City of Brampton’s CAA Center hosting of GT20
Canada 2019 was officially announced at a Media
Conference that was hosted by the Mayor and held
at Brampton City Hall, ironically Persaud who had
been an integral member of the group that had essentially
engineered this wonderful development
was not around for the grand announcement. He
had travelled overseas in fulfillment of a previously
made business commitment. His direct involvement
was however glowing acknowledged by bothMayor Patrick Brown on behalf of the City and also by Jason
Harper as GT20’s Tournament Director.
Currently the Vice-President of Cricket Ontario after serving
previously as President, Persaud has indicated his intentions
to continue his voluntary services to the sport at both the
BEDCL and Cricket Ontario at the Provincial Level. His aim
is to ensure that cricket is finally recognized by all governments,
municipalities and city administration as one of the
mainstream sports that deserves both the respect and due attention
Having served Canadian cricket, both as a
player and administrator for the past 45
years and still continuing to do so at various
levels, Guyanese-born Praim Persaud is slated
to be inducted into the United States of America
Cricket Hall of Fame when the 39th annual ceremony
takes place on Saturday, October 3. Unlike previous
ceremonies, this year’s induction will be done
via Zoom on Maq TV due to the Covid-19 pandemic
which has plagued most countries since March.
Persaud is credited to have contributed to the
growth, development and visibility of cricket in
two Canadian provinces – Montreal Quebec, for almost
10 years and Ontario, mainly in the Brampton,
Mississauga, Toronto, Etobicoke and other cities
and districts for the last 35 plus years and counting.
Under Praim’s guidance the two then existing
organizations, the Etobicoke & District Cricket
League and the Brampton Cricket Association were
merged into a single entity: the Brampton-Etobicoke
& District Cricket League – at the request of
the City. That merger was both a reflection of Praim
and his associates’ recognition that continuing City
support would be dependent upon demonstrated
growth of cricket as a participation support, as
well as the actual almost geometric increases in the
number of clubs that had been occurring. Persaud
then worked with previous mayors and city representatives
to build the Brampton-Etobicoke & District
Cricket League (BEDC) from 18 teams to a
massive 157 teams, by far the largest in Canada.
Persaud, along with Brampton City officials including
Don Doan (Director of Parks & Recreation),
has also worked diligently to identify and
secure locations for the establishment of additional
cricket grounds. The cricket facilities have
since seen an increase from three privately owned
entities to 17 and counting. As a direct result of
his outstanding efforts and activities, the ebullient
and hard-working Persaud was recently appointed
as a Special Advisor on Cricket to the Mayor
of Brampton Patrick Brown. He has successfully
forged very rewarding partnerships with city
council and all its respective stakeholders in planning,
development, infrastructure and funding, as
well as parks and maintenance – all of whom are
now committed to working with on the current
and future growth of cricket in the City.
Persaud was also directly responsible for Brampton
City’s hosting of the 2019 GT20 Tournament’s
2nd Season. It was his initiative that had brought
then Cricket Canada President Ranjit Saini and
Brampton City Mayor Patrick Brown together for
the initial discussions that subsequently paved the
way for the City’s CAA Center eventually becoming
the Tournament’s venue. When on June 3, the
City of Brampton’s CAA Center hosting of GT20
Canada 2019 was officially announced at a Media
Conference that was hosted by the Mayor and held
at Brampton City Hall, ironically Persaud who had
been an integral member of the group that had essentially
engineered this wonderful development
was not around for the grand announcement. He
had traveled overseas in fulfillment of a previously
made business commitment. His direct involvement
was however glowing acknowledged by bothas other mainline Canadian recognized sports.
Persaud also wants all levels of government to begin accounting
for cricket in their respective Annual Fiscal Budgets at
both its administrative and operational levels and further to
factor in the required financial allocations for the type of facilities
that will foster the development of cricketers who can
compete on the same level as others in other developing associates
countries which have grown in both stature and quality
due to their improved infrastructure. Persaud intends to focus
his energies in building an Ontario administration that is
functional under and ‘open’ governance philosophy and is inclusive
to all who are willing to volunteer their services under
the guidelines of transparency, cooperation and for the benefit
of all and not be driven by self-interest and self-motivation.
The Cricket Hall of Fame was founded in 1981 to honor those
who have made outstanding performances in the sport, to
help foster the game’s growth and development in the USA,
and also those who have made recognizable contributions in
their communities. Among past inductees were former West
Indies President Dave Cameron, current West Indies Cricket
Director Jimmy Adams, Sir Clive Lloyd, Sir Garfield Sobers,
Sir Wesley Hall, Sir Vivian Richards, Joel Garner, Alvin Kallicharran,
Sir Gordon Greenidge, the late Basil Butcher, Courtney
Walsh, Joseph Solomon, Colin Croft, Jeffrey Dujon, the
late Tony Becca, umpire Stephen Bucknor and Lance Gibbs.
Praim Persaud: USA Cricket Hall Of Fame Inductee!
