Kamloops Cricket Club wants you! (to try batting or bowling)

Saturday at Rae-Mor Park and the Kamloops Cricket Club First Team is batting their way through their innings. With two batsmen on the field, the other nine members of the club watch from the shade. They want to keep as fresh as they can because game days mean a long day at the park.

“Baseball is a short hours game,” Prabhjeet Singh, KCC First Team Vice Captain explained when asked what the big difference was between cricket and baseball.

“Cricket is an 8-hour game [that] has three different formats,” Prabhjeet continued. “The format we play is called One Day International – so each team gets four hours to play, so it’s a long, long game.”

In Saturday’s match, the KCC hosted a team from Langley. Both sides take part in the BC Mainland Cricket League. Since the local club formed about five years ago, interest in the game, especially among international students studying at TRU, has steadily grown.

“We have been around since 2014,” Simranjit Singh, a newer member of the squad told CFJC Today. “There are some quite enthusiastic cricket lovers [on the team] mostly from the university. Once cricket got promoted more in Kamloops we started playing here [at Rae-Mor park]. We’ve had three teams win the BCMCL League, and we just added a new team [to the club].”

Image Credit: CFJC Today

Captain of that newest addition to KCC is Christopher Elwood, who stands out because he’s not of South Asian descent.

“I played cricket as a young boy growing up in England,” Elwood said. “My Dad was playing for Marlow Cricket Club in Buckinghamshire, and I ended up playing for the Colts.”

Elwood has played the game all over Canada and says he enjoys the sport because of the traditions it represents.

“For me, it’s a true gentleman’s sport, you know?” Elwood explained. “The umpire you out. You walk. You don’t argue. You take your lumps. Is it the right decision? Maybe not. Maybe. You roll with it, it’s a gentleman’s sport, and you’re out here to enjoy the day.”

With the Cricket World Cup getting underway in England last week, the Kamloops Cricket Club is keeping a close eye on the action taking place across the pond.

“Cricket is like a religion in India,” Prabhjeet explained. “It’s grown so fast. Some people watch cricket at their work. It’s that crazy.”

“Most of [our players] are from India, so we definitely support India,” Simranjit said. “But this I think there are quite some big contenders, like England. They have some good, hard hitters. India is a favourite… New Zealand is quite good at smashing the ball very hard, so I don’t think there are any clear favourites this year for the world cup.”

The club hopes they’re able to drum up a bit more support from Kamloops locals, and possibly draw some new players out to try their hand at batting, bowling, and fielding. If you’re interested in cricket, you can contact the Kamloops Cricket Club here.

by Adam Donnelly

Kamloops Cricket Club wants you! (to try batting or bowling)

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