MARK AZEEZ - HOLLYWOOD GOLDEN OLDIES CC

Our Vintage Cricket Barbados Carnival pack this month goes to one of Vintage Crickets oldest friends, Mark Azeez of the Hollywood Golden Oldies team who will be making the trip to Barbados in October in full force! Born in Guyana-another land of calypso, rum and cricket, Mark is pretty cosmopolitan with his father’s roots emanating from the Arabian Gulf and Pakistan and his mother from Ireland. Mark was a founder of the Hollywood Golden Oldies Cricket Club in 1989-a club that has grown to over 100 members from as far afield as South Africa, England, Mexico, South America, West Indies and New Zealand.
Mark has a strong history in Southern California Cricket and has won the best wicket-keeper in 1st division in Southern California award on 3 occasions. He is the past captain of the Hollywood Cricket Clubs 2nd Division team and even now is generally considered to be an opening batsman, a bit of a spin bowler and whenever possible a wicket keeper and looking at the action photo-it is easy to imagine why!

Mark is part of a coaching initiative in Southern California coaching school children and has also qualified as a 1st Division umpire.

Notwithstanding the fact that Mark has become successful in the United States and particularly in California, he is very proud of his Guyanese heritage. Guyana is the birth place of such players as Rohan Kanhai, Lance Gibbs, Basil Butcher, Joe Solomon, Clive Lloyd, Alvin Kallicharan, Carl Hooper and in the current team, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

It is also the home country of a great friend of Vintage Cricket, Andra Thakur currently resident in beautiful Nanaimo on Vancouver Island but very hopeful of bringing a team from Guyana to the Vintage Cricket Carnival.

In commercial life, Mark owns an auto restoration business located in Hollywood and at present is moving into a new and exciting profession-executive producer of two movies including the recently released "The Pet".

Mark is president of Hollywood Golden Oldies Cricket Club and along with all members of Hollywood Golden Oldies Cricket wishes all Vintage Cricketers throughout the world all the very best for 2006.

Mark will be one of the great characters at the Vintage Cricket Carnival in Barbados and remember if your travel to Barbados takes you through Los Angeles, why not stay over and enjoy some true Hollywood Golden Oldies hospitality and a game at the fantastic Woodley Park Cricket Complex-great ground, great people and good cricket.