The sports landscape in Greater Sudbury just got more diverse with the launch this month of the Kings Cricket Club of Sudbury.
The influx of new Canadians taking up residence in the Nickel City have brought their culture and traditions with them, and for many, the game of cricket is a big part of that.
Kings Cricket Club (KCC or the Kings) will be playing in the Sault North League this summer with plans to play in the Northern Ontario Cricket League as well, one of the founder, Gurpreet Broca, told Sudbury.com.
The club was founded by Broca alongside Muhammad Safwan Raza, Navdeep Singh Brar, Simarjeet Singh Khosa and Sahilpreet Singh.
“Our club includes many international students, newcomers to Canada, as well as many Sudbury residents from our community,” Broca said. “These members come from Canadian backgrounds and Punjabi, Bengali, Gujarati, Pakistani, UAE and Nepalese communities, bringing their versatility of talent to the team.”
While the club currently numbers about 35 registered players and members, Broca figures there are more than 200 unregistered players and potential volunteers in the city.
With assistance from the city to find a field and to play and practice, KCC will be hosting matches and practises in Capreol, starting May 19. The Capreol Cricket Field is located at 24 Meehan St., near the Capreol Community Centre and Arena and on the grounds of the 2915 Capreol Army Cadet Corps.
The season runs until Sept. 29 and the club will play approximately 50 matches over the course of the summer, Broca said, “including friendly practice matches within Sudbury and competition matches with many clubs and teams across Northern Ontario.”
The Kings will also be travelling to Timmins for the Timmins Cricket Championship June 1-2, and to Sault Ste Marie for the Soo North Cup from June 14-16 for. The club also plans to travel for matches in North Bay, with more tours planned for tournaments in other cities in the region and southern Ontario as the season progresses.
Teams from North Bay, Sault Ste Marie and Timmins will also be travelling to Capreol for matches.
“Sudbury is very excited to see our cricket club launching and involving so many newcomers and local residents,” Broca said. “They are passionate to follow and play the sport with us, especially when it brings people together for community development and overall well-being. This gives them a chance to show their cricket skills and bring laurels to our city.
“We are thankful to the entire Sudbury community for such an amazing support and welcoming experience for their new Cricket Club … as we aim to make them proud of their team. This club is not ours but for the community by the community and of the community of Sudbury.”
As highlighted recently by Sudbury.com (we sent our editor to learn how to play cricket — you can check that out here), the influx of new students from cricket-loving cultures has seen the Rainbow District School Board bring the game into the curriculum. This is a fantastic development, Broca said.
“This is such and exciting and wonderful news for many Canadian families as their children will be learning a new skill set in the game of cricket,” he said. “We are delighted to hear and know of this progress made by Rainbow Board and we also look forward to helping the board with future events yet to be planned, to offer our sports experience and resources to help many young adults and kids to enjoy cricket. We congratulate Rainbow Board and many families for this remarkable inclusion in the curriculum.
“Families are receiving it as a welcome gesture as it represents diversity in sports and entertainment for the children.”
You can learn more about Kings Cricket Club Sudbury on their website.
Mark Gentili is the editor of Sudbury.com.
