Cricket catching on in city
School outreach part of the plan for local club playing in competitive league at Milroy Park
The city’s cricket team is a big part of what keeps Sankara Sekaran in Peterborough.
Sekaran, 32, is the captain of the Peterborough Cricket Association. It’s one of 13 teams in the Markham Premier Cricket League (MPCL). The other 12 teams are from the GTA.
When Sekaran moved to Peterborough four years ago, he was surprised to learn it had a cricket team.
He’d played professionally in India and on a school team in Windsor.
But he didn’t expect to be able to play his beloved sport in a smaller, more rural community.
“It’s one of the main reasons I’m still sticking with Peterborough,” Sekaran said with a laugh during a break while playing the United Titans-Red on Saturday.
Sekaran is able to move anywhere for work, but feels at home in the Electric City, where his team hosts a game every Saturday during the cricket season.
They play at Milroy Park, on a pitch that’s all their own.
“To have such a beautiful field is great,” said Sekaran.
Before the association officially joining MPCL three years ago, it was more of a recreational club, with just enough players to get together and have fun. That started in 2004.
They initially played at Lakefield District Secondary School, moving to Morrow Park about a year later.
But before each game, they had to mow the grass and lay out the mat, which took about an hour.
Over the years, more players connected with the association, until it was able to finally join the MPCL.
Thanks to funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation and support from the city, the association was able to create a cricket pitch at Milroy Park in 2014.
That’s also when they joined MPCL, hosting at least 13 games each season.
The team of 20 also practises twice a week at Keith Wightman Public School.
Balbir Ghori is the president of the association.
He grew up playing cricket in India and moved to the city in 2011. Like Sekaran, Ghori was surprised to see cricket in Peterborough.
Ghori, 40, joined a slow pitch league when he first moved to the city, which was quickly abandoned when he discovered the association.
“I’m passionate about it and so is everyone else here,” Ghori said of cricket.
Because the sport isn’t so well known in Peterborough, Ghori said the association is working to educate youth about it.
They visited Kenner Collegiate last year to speak about cricket and do some demonstrations and plan to visit more schools going forward.
They’re also showcasing cricket in the upcoming Peterborough Rugby Ultimate Sports Camp.
The hope is to peak the interest of youngsters to get them to test it out and “develop a love” for the sport, Ghori said.
Meanwhile, Sekaran is confident cricket will become more popular in Canada in the future. Maybe not in the next five years, he said, but hopefully in 10 to 15.
“It could be one of those main sports where Canada is being represented in the world,” said Sekaran.
The Peterborough Cricket Association welcomes the public to come out to watch their games at Milroy Park on Saturdays between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.
NOTE: For more information about the Peterborough Cricket Association, visit www.peterboroughcricket.ca