Annual Cricket Match honours fallen officer
The Toronto Police Community Cricket Club (TPCCC) defeated the Barbados Ex-Police Association of Toronto by 116 runs in the annual Percy Cummins Memorial cricket game on July 13 in Scarborough.
Electing to bat after winning the toss, Toronto scored 198 for 8 in their allotted 30 overs.
Special Constable Prem Boodhoo was the game’s leading scorer with 47.
The Barbados Ex-Police Association of Toronto, which included retired West Indies player Deandra Dottin, was bundled out for 82 in the 16th over.
Detective Constable Mustafa Popalzai of 51 Division was the game’s Most Valuable Player. He scored 30 and took three wickets and two catches.
“I enjoyed being part of what was a great event,” said Popalzai who is one of the Vice-Captains. “It reminds us of the sacrifices officers make and it is good to see family and friends of Cummins attending the match and celebrating his memory 43 years after he left us.”
Cummins, who joined the then Metro Toronto Police Force on June 16, 1970 after serving almost eight years with the Barbados Police Service, was disarmed and shot with his gun in 1981 as he and his partner investigated a disturbance call on Symington Ave.
It was his first day back in uniform after working in 11 Division’s Community Response Unit and then in the Undercover Squad.
The seriously wounded officer, along with his injured partner who was shot in the hand, were rushed to St. Joseph’s Health Centre where Cummins died in the operating room from a bullet wound to the neck.
For the past 27 years, colleagues and friends have kept Cummins memory alive through an annual limited-overs cricket match.
He started the Barbados Ex-Police Association of Toronto and was the President at the time of his death.
Cummins also introduced cricket to Toronto Police Service.
“Percy was an avid cricketer and very community oriented,” said retired Superintendent Dave McLeod who is the TPCCC Vice-President. “He used the sport as a unifier to bring the community together and that is one of the reasons why the annual match to honour him is well attended.”
In June 1988, the TPCCC renamed their Scarborough ground in his name.
