There have been questions, claims, counter-claims and various comments on facebook in recent weeks about the number of players involved in schools cricket. The frequency of school cricketers playing also drew comment. The Region of Peel Secondary Schools Athletic Association (ROPSSAA) website includes a spreadsheet with the number of schools playing in the annual Girls, Junior Boys and Senior competition in the last four school years. Indoor cricket is a spring sport under ROPSSAA with matches taking place after the March break.
The number of players in an ROPSSAA indoor cricket team comprises 6 players plus a possible 4 substitutes. The most teams that took part [note: “took part” means actually played] in each of the three categories of indoor cricket championship in recent seasons are:
Girls 8 schools (2018)
Junior Boys 10 schools (2019)
Senior Boys 28 schools (2016).
| Category (Teams/Groups)/Year | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Girls Teams | 7 (1 group) | 8 (2) | 6 (1) | 7 (1) |
| Junior Boys Teams | 10 (2 groups) | 9 (2) | 7 (1) | 7 (1) |
| Senior Boys Teams | 22 (4 groups) | 23 (4) | 24 (4) | 28 (4) |
| Total Boys Teams | 32 | 32 | 31 | 35 |
| Total Girls + Boys Teams | 39 | 40 | 37 | 42 |
| Minimum Total Players (based on 6 starting players per team) | 234 | 240 | 222 | 252 |
Several of the schools playing ROPSSAA indoor cricket have also appeared in outdoor cricket during the last 12-13 years in a Mayor’s Trophy that used to be organized by the Mississauga Ramblers Cricket Club and in the subsequent Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) versions of the Mayor’s Trophy. The Mississauga Ramblers event included the leading teams from the ROPSSAA indoor cricket tournament. CIMA cricket participation depends on schools registering to play whichever Mayor’s Trophy (Mississauga or Brampton).
It would be interesting to track down the numbers for the annual Elementary Schools and some Middle Schools cricket tournaments that have taken place in the Peel Region. (EN)