Lankans and Punjabis to battle for CFPWCC crown

Community cricket tournament brings sub-continent players together

BY SANJIV DUBEY

The second Cumberland Ford’s Parramatta Winter Cricket Cup (CFPWCC) supported by Indian Link and Parramatta Park Trust has moved into its final stages. The tournament which began in May with games played at Parramatta Park, is due to witness the finals on August 19, battled between last year’s runner-up team the Sydney Lankans and the Barnala Punjabis. The winning team will receive a cash prize of $2700 and the runner up team will go home celebrating with $1000.

The 14-team contest is in its second year of competition, and witnessed many episodes and close ties that were no different from the Oscar-nominated movie Lagaan. Teams winning on last balls, and entire families present to support their team every Sunday, have been features of this winter cricket tournament for most of the participating teams.

For families, Parramatta Park has become a weekend hangout as the park has many attractions for young kids, like a play area, cycling and walking tracks, creeks with flora and fauna, picnic areas and of course, the cricket. It is hoped and certainly promised, that the same excitement continues with the summer cricket competition.

The winter cricket contest also offers off-season training for many top first-grade cricket players from the western suburbs, not only to keep up their match practice but also to keep up their association with their own ethnic groups.

Many aspirant young cricketers have the chance to play with seasoned cricketers, competing and at the same time learning from them. Among the many teams is Footwork Sports Academy which fielded a team of more than 6 boys below the age of 15, a rare opportunity for these young gifted and talented kids to showcase their skills. 13-year-old twin brothers Ali and Hussain were outstanding as bowlers, as was Suraj, who opened the batting for the Academy team and surprised everyone with his skills.

Group A was made up of the Mount Druitt Eagles, the Indian Knights, Footwork Sports Academy, Sydney Lankans, Omar Tools Pak Cheetahs, Vibrant Gujarat and Auburn Smashers. From this group, Vibrant Gujarat, Omar Tools Mount Druitt and Sydney Lankans qualified for the knockout stages. Group B’s teams were Parra Smashers, Afghanistan Lions, Barnala Punjabis, Red Devilz (Pakistan Boys), Velly Tigers, Ekahtoor (Bangladesh boys) and Melbourne Institute of Technology Sydney.

In this group, the Afghanistan Lions, Barnala Punjabis, Red Devilz and Parra Smashers reached the knockout stage.

The knockout round saw high voltage, nerve-wracking dramas, with teams winning on last balls, and players displaying all types of emotions from elation to deflation. In a nail-biting finish, Sydney Lankans beat Parra Smashers by 1 wicket on the last ball of the game, with the losing team distraught at their loss.

The quarter final results were:

• Barnala Punjabis defeated Vibrant Gujarat

• Afghanistan Lions defeated Mount Druitt Eagles

• Sydney Lankans defeated Parra smashers

• Omar Tools defeated Red Devilz

The semi finals were equally exciting with unpredictable moments that made the games very interesting. Barnala Punjabis, with not many superstars in their side, stunned their much-fancied opponents Omar Tools-sponsored Pakistan Cheetahs, who had quite a few first grade players on their side. Barnala Punjabis beat the Cheetahs by more than 35 runs, and went straight through to the finals.

In the second semi finals, the Afghan Lions who had not lost a single game during the round robins, crumbled under pressure getting bowled out for a meagre 88 runs. However, their bowlers refused to give up and made a gritty effort to bowl out the Sydney Lankans. Major family support saw the Sydney Lankans ride home in the last over, but only after they lost 8 wickets.

The finals of Cumberland Ford’s Winter Cricket Cup between Sydney Lankans and Barnala Punjabis will be on August 19, and promises to be a big family day out. The winning team will become

SEMI FINAL 1

• Barnala Punjabis VS Omar Tools

Barnala Punjabis 163 all out (Daljit 51 runs, Amin 26 runs). Omar Tools Pakistani Cheetahs 127 all out (Prashant 31 runs).

Man of the match: Daljit.

SEMI FINAL 2

• Afghan Lion VS Sydney Lankans

Afghan Lions 88 all out (Hamid 25 runs)

Sydney Lankans 90 for 8 wickets (Hansa 31 runs) the champion of the winter community cricket tournament, and the teams will pocket nearly $4000 dollars in prize money. Above all, this tournament will bring communities togetherIndians, Afghanis, Sri Lankans, Bangladeshis, Anglo-Saxons and all cricket lovers will gather together to applaud the spirit of this noble game.

Man of the Match: Hansa.

The summer corporate cricket tournament is scheduled for a mid-September start. Interest teams contact Sanjiv on 0433 669 334.