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Editor: Norm Nelson Phone: 905-845-3824 (ext. 255) Fax: 905-337-5567 e-mail: nnelson@haitonsearch.com Wl-I )M -:S 1 >AY. A l (II S I !.{. 2< k i.i · I 1 )1 SPORTS The Oakville C ricket C lub officially opened its new pitch S aturday at W.H. M orden School. Pictured clockwise from left, batsm an G ourville B e/uiden takes a swing, Ritchie P erera follows through on his throw, O akville M ayor Ann Mulvale releases the cerem onial first bowl and Z aid Khot keeps his eye on the ball. T he club is com prised of m ales of all ages with a m em bership of approxim ately 50 players, representing every high school in the town. By Jaime Burnham SPECIAL T O TH E BEAVEK womp of the wicket has official ly launched cricket into Oakville. The Oakville Cricket Club held cerem onies Saturday to unveil its new cricket pitch at W.H. Morden School. The playing grounds, which were recently granted to the club by the Town of Oakville, will be the new home pitch for league play. Mayor Ann Mulvale was there in full support o f the initiative that began just two years ago. Mulvale threw or, more accurately, bowled the first ball to com mence the afternoon of cricket. "I used to be a tomboy." Mulvale admitted, "but it has been years since I have thrown a ball like this." Of British heritage, Mulvale herself grew up with cricket being played in the schoolyard behind her house. In A England, unlike Canada, the world is put on hold for cricket. O.C.C. president Hardial Singh thanked the mayor and the Town, specifically the Parks and Recreation Department, for their tremendous sup port. Within one year of receiving a request for a pitch, theTown came through with the grounds at W.H. Morden. In return, Mulvale applauded the club for the opportunity it is presenting to Oakville. "I am very enthusiastic about this." she said. "Active people o f all ages make productive citizens." The O.C.C. is comprised of boys and men of all ages. The average age is around 23. Its membership currently is approximately 50 people and represents every high school in Oakville. Faisal Junad o f T.A. Blakelock has been playing cricket since he was a young boy. "Like ice hockey is for Canadians, cricket is for Pakistanis." the 16-yearold said. Teammate Talal Chaudhry. 18, of White Oaks added, "cricket is a lot of fun. It is our passion." For many, cricket seems a compli cated sport. However, it is quite com parable to baseball. Cricket is a team sport of 11 players a side. A formal game can last five days. ' If that was the case here. Saturday's match would be wrapping up just about now. The object o f the game is to be the team with the most runs, which sounds simple enough. But throw in two `bats men' at a time (a striker and a non-strik er), a bowler and 10 different ways to get a batsmen out, and things get much more complex. Equipment consists of a wicket (pic ture a flattened bat), a hard cork ball and lots of protective gear for the batsmen. The fielders do not wear gloves, although the wicketkeeper, looking sim ilar to a baseball catcher, does. Cricket players are decked out in their `whites', making it likely the play ers' mothers stock up on grass stain remover. The club has already seen success with two of its members nominated to the Ontario under-19 team. Its hope for the future is to have a member on the Canadian team. The f6cus of the O.C.C.. however, is on more than the game. It shares in the mayor's dream for healthy lifestyle and multiculturalism in youth. The club is simply using cricket as its vehicle to support that dream. Representing nine different countries, the club is dedicated to promoting toler ance and respect in its members. "Oakville has the most diverse team in Ontario," Singh said proudly. The O.C.C. also has plans for pro fessionally coached camps find umpire certification for its members. The goal is to promote respect for the position of the umpire through good sportsman ship. This summer the club has a team representing Oakville in the Hamilton and District cricket league. It is still looking for members as it hopes to have a full children's team by year's end. For more information on the Oakville Cricket Club, visit www.geocities.com/oakvillecc or e-mail dalal@rogers.com. For more information on the game of cricket, visit www.usa.cricket.org. Photos by Barrie Erskine · O akville Beaver