The Guardian (Charlottetown)

Growing the sport of cricket

Provincial tournament features 10 P.E.I. teams July 10-11

- JASON SIMMONDS THE GUARDIAN Jason.simmonds@theguardia­n.pe.ca @JpsportsJa­son

SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. – Manny Dhaliwal is hoping his passion for cricket rubs off on Prince Edward Islanders.

“If you are from India, it’s like soccer or football in other countries,” said Dhaliwal, who is originally from India and moved to Summerside from Toronto in 2016.

“Cricket is very big in India, so from the time I was a kid, four or five, I have been playing cricket. It’s a household game (in India), and everyone plays cricket.”

Now Dhaliwal is hoping to raise the sport’s profile in Summerside. He said there are approximat­ely 50 players playing cricket this summer.

“I have been working with the City of Summerside because we all want cricket to grow here,” said Dhaliwal, who pointed out the majority of the players have previous playing experience.

A LONG WAY

Cricket has developed significan­tly in Summerside in recent years. Dhaliwal explained there was no pitch when a group of cricket lovers began playing the sport in Summerside five years ago. They would play in large parking lots on weekends when there were no cars.

From there, they moved to a pitch at Lefurgey Park in 2017, and now the athletes have a new field that recently opened inside the former track at Three Oaks Senior High School.

“The local people are starting to take an interest in it, mostly the elders,” said one of the players, Harmandeep Singh, who added he would like to see a cricket program introduced at the elementary schools.

He went on to say this would allow young people to learn the basics of the sport.

Dhaliwal said new players are welcomed and encouraged to try the sport. He added the experience­d players do their best to teach newcomers how to play.

“How to throw the ball, how to pitch the ball, how to hit the ball and things like that,” said Dhaliwal, who noted there have been around 300 different players play cricket in Summerside over the last five years.

Another skill, said Singh, is holding the ball properly and configurin­g your arm correctly to throw.

Singh, who is from India, developed a passion for cricket at a young age.

“It’s the main sport in India,” said Singh. “Everybody there plays this game, my elders and my younger brothers.

“When I started playing, I had a lot of fun, and I have a good bat and ball.”

Prince Edward Island fans have an opportunit­y to check out what cricket is all about this weekend. Ten teams, including three from Summerside, along with entries from Charlottet­own, Stratford and Cornwall, will compete in the IO Solutions provincial cricket tournament at

Three Oaks on July

10-11.

A total of 24 games are scheduled with 14 on

July 10 and 10 on

July 11.

Dhaliwal noted this is the first cricket tournament to be played in

Summerside.

 ?? JASON SIMMONDS • THE GUARDIAN ?? Kamal Rinwa follows through after connecting with the ball at Three Oaks Senior High School in Summerside on July 6. The 10-team IO Solutions provincial cricket tournament will take place at the Three Oaks pitch on July 10-11.
JASON SIMMONDS • THE GUARDIAN Kamal Rinwa follows through after connecting with the ball at Three Oaks Senior High School in Summerside on July 6. The 10-team IO Solutions provincial cricket tournament will take place at the Three Oaks pitch on July 10-11.
 ?? JASON SIMMONDS • THE GUARDIAN ?? Manny Dhaliwal delivers a pitch during cricket practice at Three Oaks Senior High School in Summerside on July 6. A local group of cricket enthusiast­s play each evening at Three Oaks, and newcomers are welcome to try the sport.
JASON SIMMONDS • THE GUARDIAN Manny Dhaliwal delivers a pitch during cricket practice at Three Oaks Senior High School in Summerside on July 6. A local group of cricket enthusiast­s play each evening at Three Oaks, and newcomers are welcome to try the sport.
 ?? JASON SIMMONDS • THE GUARDIAN ?? Harmandeep Singh loves playing cricket in Summerside.
JASON SIMMONDS • THE GUARDIAN Harmandeep Singh loves playing cricket in Summerside.

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