Md Ismael
THE EAST HAM Conservative Club was the venue as Scintilla Cricket Club held its tenth birthday amidst much fanfare and celebration.
The Barking & Dagenham and Dagenham Club started its illustrious journey from humble roots when, in 2006, a small group of avid cricket players came together and participated in a social cricket playing get together every week at Regents Park. The club was named Corona Cricket Club before being rebranded as Scintilla Cricket Club shortly after.
In 2007 Club Captain Ahmed Choudhury led the starting XI to the Western Union London Cricket League Division Three title, and the club has enjoyed a whirlwind success since.
Councillor Saima Ashraf, Deputy Leader of Barking & Dagenham Council, was chief guest at the celebration. She said: “I’m very happy to be here today to join the team in celebrating ten glorious years. There have been some outstanding achievements which have bought hugely positive recognition to our borough and I wish the club every success going forward into the next decade and beyond.”
Guests on the night included TV One Sport frontperson and Tower Hamlets Youth Sports Foundation manager Abdal Ahmed, Arfan Akram from East London Cricket, Mick Rose from Eastbury School, community activist Shiraz Kothia, celebrated cricket umpire Hafeji Valli Patel and National Cricket League co-ordinator and co-founder Sajid Patel.
Scintilla Cricket Club sponsors past and present were also in attendance with guests of honour and individuals attending included Kam Ali, CEO of Apex Accountants, Rob Dewan, MD of East End Logistics, and Sushanta Das Gupta, Chair of Techshed Ltd.
Jack Briggs, who came through the Club’s youth structure, was named as a member of the club management and handed the portfolio of youth development.
During the award ceremony Ashfaqur Rahaman Nobel was named player of the year, Juwel Roy 1st XI batsman of the year and Captain Ayaz Karim was unanimously named 1st XI bowler of the year. For the National Cricket League, Zisan Abedin was named player of the year with Aminul Islam Shihan receiving the accolade of batsman of the year. The 2nd XI Batsman of the Year award went to Jahidul Haque and the 2nd XI Bowler of the Year plaudit to Syed Iftekhar.
There were special thanks for Tahmina Ahmed, Anindita Ani and Dilara Ahmed, who have been dedicated to Scintilla Cricket Club and who, over the last decade, have carried out and combined several crucial roles to keep the club running and financially stable. Each was presented with flower bouquets in appreciation of their tremendous roles in shaping the history of the club.
There was a touching tribute in honour of the founding members of club: Dhanraj Paul, Shafqat Ezdi, Abu Naser, Ahmed Choudhury and SM Zakir Hossain. Each member was in attendance and was inducted into the Club’s hall of fame alongside Scintilla title winning captain Farris Almas Lee, Club sponsor Sushanta Das Gupta, record wicket taker Aaman Khan, Naufal Zamir, Ekram Chowdhury and former Bangladesh national team spinner Enamul Haque junior.
A special mention was made in tribute to Scintilla Cricket Club opener Ashraful Islam who was hospitalised for 6 months in 2016 with TB of the brain. His condition was so serious that it was touch and go whether Islam would survive. Recently Islam has featured on the BBC after helping the NHS launch a pilot TB treatment monitoring service with the use of an iPhone app.
First team captain Ayaz Karim said: “We have a rich history and tonight it has bought home to me what impact we have made. I am proud to captain the team and we hope to deliver further silverware in what promises to be a very tough season ahead.”
“This is a special club with special people,” added 2016 Second XI Skipper Shaha Riadh. “It has been immense talking and sharing our achievements tonight.”
Scintilla Cricket Club Chair Emdad Rahman MBE added: “We continue to make our own history. We struggle to pay the bills, but our spirit is relentless and our hunger to achieve is grows stronger by the minute. We now look forward to the season ahead.”
Club Captain Ahmed Choudhury concluded: “Tonight we have all had a taste of ten years of blood, sweat and tears. Success is never served on a plate and tonight I am so proud to stand here and look back on with immense pride at the journey that we have taken. For this I thank you all for your unstinted support.”
•For more information about Scintilla Cricket Club, go to: www.scintillacc.com
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