Close to 300 friends, relatives and well wishers were at the Marriott Hotel in Windsor, Connectict for the 45th induction ceremony of the World’s First Cricket Hall of Fame.
The ceremony was historic indeed, for apart from the nominees, the first World’s Cricket Hall of Fame anthem was officially launched. So the Cricket Hall of Fame housed in Harford, Connecticut is not only the first in the world, but now the only one to have an anthem.
Secondly, Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke was in attendance and remains the only Congresswoman to attend the Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
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For the first time also, a married couple were inducted into the Hall – Hemant Anilkant Buch and his wife Kinjal Hemant Buch, for their work in the development of youth cricket in Southern California.
Other inductees and awardees for the night were:
- Mark Azeez, a member of Hollywood Cricket Club, who played his cricket in Southern and Northern California.
- Ajith Bhaskar Shetty, a prominent cricket administrator in New York.
- Dr. Kumar Balakrishnan, who inspired and launched SICC Youth Cricket Program in 2010….
- Howard Johnson, a three-term president of the New Britain Social Club.
- Henry Forde, a former President and manager for the Westbury Cricket Club.
- Rajeev Puthenveettil, an ICC certified coach and who helped advance the game in Connecticut. He also served as president of the Connecticut Cricket League.
- State Representative, Bobby Gibson for his work coaching student athletes in basketball, Track and Field and Football.
- Patrick Hamilton, for his passion and lifelong dedication to the growth and development of cricket in the United States.
- Leslie Clarke, a member of the XLCR High School first winning Sunlight Cup team in Jamaica. Also a member of Wembley Athletic Club in the Bronx.
- Rick Nugent, a passionate cricket advocate, whose life has been dedicated to service, cultural presentation, mentorship and strengthening communities both locally and internationally.
- Jay Singh, a lifelong dedication to cricket and currently serves as President of the Southern Connecticut Cricket Association. He is also a Level-4 Certified Cricket Coach.
- Francis Trevor Samura, Chairman of Cricket Sierra Leone.
This year’s Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Hall of Famer Dennis Heath. Certificates of Appreciation were awarded to Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke and Dr. Una S. T. Clarke. A Certificate of Distinction was awarded to Steve Stephenson for dedicated leadership.
