Six players altogether in two successive,
2018 and now 2022, Canadian ICC
U19 World Cup squads. That’s the very
impressive record of which the Sheriff Bodhoo
led, Greater Toronto Area (GTA) based,
Tranzac Cricket Academy can now justifiably
boast. Captain Ashtan Deosammy, Nicholas
Manohar and Raqib Shamsudeen were Tranzac
coached members of the Canadian 2018 ICC
U19 World Cup Squad. Tranzac’s members on
the recently announced 15 member Canadian
squad for next month’s January 14 – February
5, Caribbean hosted 2022 ICC U19 World
Cup will be Sheel Patel, Kairav Sharma and
Arjuna Sukhu.
Incredibly, Budhoo and his Tranzac Coaching
Assistant Marvin Nandu can now also rightfully
lay claim for the lion’s share of the coaching
credits for another 2022 U19 World Cup
player participant. That of Marvin’s nephew,
Canadian-born Matthew Nandu, who was
been selected for the West Indies Rising Stars
U19 Squad which will be representing the
Caribbean Region as hosts of next month’s
2022 World Cup.
Tranzac’s evolution to its current undeniable
status one of the leading Cricket Academies
in all of Canada, started way back in 1931,
when a small group of Australians and New
Zealanders met in the Bay Street (Toronto,
Ontario, Canada) offices of J.W. Collins, the
then New Zealand Trade Commissioner.
Wishing to retain a part of their national identity
that bunch of expatriates formed a group the
then primary objectives of which were to
welcome other Australian and New Zealand
newcomers, while helping to meet the needs of their fellow countrymen by
providing social activities, fostering fellowship and goodwill, and promoting a
better understanding of Canada.
In December 1950, a formal meeting of the group at the King Edward Hotel
resulted in the official birth of an Australian New Zealand Club in Toronto.
Sixteen years later, in 1966, the Club was officially incorporated under the name
TRANZAC which stands for Toronto Australia New Zealand Club.
Tranzac Sports and Cultural Cricket Club was handed over to its current owner
and Coach, Sheriff Boodhoo by Mr. Errol Boodhoo around the year 1996.
Thereafter it came to be known as Tranzac Cricket Academy.
Located in Toronto, Tranzac Cricket Academy is undoubtedly considered
a high-performance club team in Ontario developing players to compete at
the National and International levels. The Academy offers cricket coaching at
Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced levels.
It is little surprise that Tranzac Cricket Academy is
known for its world-class cricket coaching. Sheriff
Boodhoo is an acclaimed coaching practitioner who
has been awarded Coach of the Year several times. A
meeting with legendary English Coach Bob Woolmer
got Boodhoo passionate about cricket coaching.
“The first time he came to Canada, he visited my facility,
which was where the Canadian National Team held
their practices. After many conversations, he got me
involved in coaching.
Over the years, he continued to visit me at the
facility and made sure that I was provided with
the information and knowledge to help me coach
players”, recalls Boodhoo.
From the very beginning, Tranzac’s goal has been to
provide aspiring, hardworking, and dedicated players
the opportunity, resources, and support to represent
Canada to compete at international cricket’s the
highest levels.
Tranzac’s team of experienced and qualified coaches
administer structured group sessions that include
cricket practices and fitness drills three times a week.
Extreme weather conditions do not deter the players
or the coaches to attend their daily practices. Indoor
practices are staged at 185 Carlingview Drive during
the winter months, and outdoor sessions are held at
Centennial during the summer months.
TCA has been a continuing success story, boasting
several noteworthy accomplishments in its now 25
year history under Sherriff Budhoo’s guidance. The
Academy has bagged 25 awards from the Leagues.
It took U-13, U-15, U-17, and U-19 teams to T&D
championships in consecutive years.
In addition to the aforementioned U19 World Cup
prior and current selected U19 players, Tranzac
Cricket Academy has so far also produced three other
prominent Canadian cricketers. The first among those
is Harsh Thaker who has represented the Canadian
Under 19 in Bangladesh. Harsh is currently a valued
member of the Canadian Senior National Team.
Next is Jeet Mehta who is a part of the top 24 squads for
Ontario and Canada under 19 teams. He made his senior debut with the
Canadian development squad in the Super 50 in the West Indies. Arjun
Parikh won the U 15 championship in 2010 in the U 18 and U 21 levels
besides playing for a conference championship in the following years.
Tranzac’s mission has been to coach every child based on his uniqueness.
Thus Tranzac has U-12, U- 14,U-16, U- 18 and two senior teams.
A memorable moment for Coach Boodhoo was when Tranzac Cricket
club won the Premier Division in the year 2000. It was the largest
crowd ever to witness the finals of the Premier game held at Ross Lord
between Tranzac Cricket Club and Victoria Park Cricket Club.
Tranzac cricket Academy has gone beyond the realms of cricket coaching
to build individual character and craft personal success of its members.
As it’s now enviable U19 World Cup selection record definitely shows.