Alescon Comets Sports Club Annual Awards
December 9th 2008

Ganga: Leadership encompasses confidence and mutual respect

Inspirational T&T cricket captain, Daren Ganga said that great leadership encompasses confidence, assertiveness and mutual respect but not dictatorship.

Ganga made the statement when he delivered the feature address at the 18th annual awards ceremony of that Alescon Comets Sports Club, held on Saturday at the residence of Azad Abass Ali in Charlieville.

He said that leaders take calculated risks and are innovative and confident in their decisions to do so.

“These traits trickle down to team members and are manifested in the team’s effort as a whole. Insipring confidence in your team can give members added confidence to perform better or, in some cases, to do extra -ordinary things. Eliciting respect and manifesting sincerity are components that should always be mutually demonstrated between captain and players,” Ganga said.

He added that to get the most out of each player, and to make the team experience a positive one, one must understand the individuality of players and the dynamics of group interaction.

Ganga, who is the most successful T&T captain, said that another element of good leadership is communication.

“Communication is one of the key elements of leadership. Good communication skills need to be learned to effectively become a good leader or manager. When communication occurs, as a leader, you will be able to accurately convey your ideas and thoughts to those that work for you. In fact, simply being able to convey these things in the first place, much less accurately, puts you in the right direction for leadership,” Ganga pointed out.

Out-of-favour T&T opening batsman Imran Khan copped the coveted ‘Cricketer of the Year’ award, while promising leg-spinner Kissoondath Magram was named ‘Youth Cricketer of the Year.”

The right-handed Khan scored 380 runs in the Eastern Credit Union National Cricket League, in addition of taking 40 wickets. He also scored 319 runs in the Carib Sunday League Limited Overs competition, including 107 against Sheffield Sports.

Magram was a key member of the T&T National Under-19 team which defeated Barbados in the limited overs final of the TCL Group West Indies Under-19 Challenge at Banks Brewery in Bridgetown, earlier this year.

He had two five-wicket-hauls this season in the local domestic competitions. A special award was presented to Crystal Harrilal for gaining selection on the T&T Girls U-15 team.

Also speaking at the gala function was Chaguanas Mayor Dr Surujrattan Rambachan, and former T&T and West Indies opening batsman Suruj Ragoonath.

Alescon Comets 2008 Honour Roll

Special Award - Crystal Harrilal - Selection on T&T Under-15 team.
Five or more wickets in an innings - Kissoodath Magram (twice); Kevin John, David Goonieram.
Centuries- Edison Sagram -105 v Preysal; 119 v Sheffield; Greg Yacoob -100 not out v Queen’s Park.
Reserve League Cricketer of the Year - Hanuman Moonsammy.
Youth Cricketer of the Year - Kissoondath Magram.
Most Valuable Player 20/20 - Manoj Sirju.
Most Valuable Player  50 overs - Imran Khan.
Most Valuable Player National League - Imran Khan.
Special Award - Satish Naidoo.
Cricketer of the Year - Imran Khan.