J.R. Robertson Club Championships (Eastern)

at Kitcherner, Ontario

Report
It was the fabulous weekend of July 20th & 21st. The four eastern JRR semi-finalists were set to play in Waterloo. On Saturday, Centurion CC (Toronto)
played against Quebec's best Gujarat CC at Laurel Creek ground, while Sunrise (SOCA Champions) played against Brantford CC of Hamilton League at Waterloo Park. Centurian and Sunrise won their games convincingly.

Despite the victory, Sunrise CC senior players were unhappy with their batting effort. Sunrise made the necessary 166 to win after good knocks by Jaspal Rana and captain Dharmesh Krishnammagaru.

The next day Sunrise CC went to Laurel Creek ground to face mighty Centurion CC of the TDCA, who were expected to have not trouble Sunrise CC. After losing the toss, Sunrise manager, Raghu, told the guys to play for the honour of their president Art Browne, who is ailing with brain cancer

Centurion elected to bat. For Sunrise Sarabjit Minhas (Left Arm medium pace) and Sadaqat Shiekh (Right arm medium pace) had the batsman in trouble from the get go. They were unable to settle down and had quickly lost three wickets just for 19 runs. However Centurion team still looked confident, as Arvind Luxman the number 4 batsman showed discipline, the fall of wickets were halted but runs were not coming freely. Even on a fast outfield and a total batting wicket, runs were coming at below 4 runs an over. Great fielding and great bowling, led by Parveen Sharma (Offspinner); Jaspal Rana (Tricky medium pace), Sukhjinder Rana (Former National Team Player); Dharmesh (medium pace) and of course the two opening bowlers as mentioned above. Centurion managed 210 all out in 48 overs. Arvind Luxman made a stylish and disciplined 125.

When Sunrise went to bat, they approached the task with a relaxed attitude. Runs started coming freely. Sunrise was at 28 in just 4 overs, but then quickly lost three wickets. Sunrise's star batsman Harpal Minhas then came to the crease, hitting with the elegence of a test player, the drives were classic, through the gaps with 4 runs written all over from the moment the ball left the bat. Supporting him was Sukhjinder Rana playing the anchor role. They had crossed the 150 mark in just 20
overs. Harpal made 69 in 63 balls. Jaspal Rana replaced Harpal and joined his younger brother Sukhjinder in the middle, he has the reputation to be the hardest hitter in Southern Ontario. In the tri-city area of Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge, people who follow cricket are Jaspal Rana fans, they come to watch just him. Most fans go home as soon as he is out. However, Jaspal Rana knew he had to finish the job. The discussions in the middle between the brothers is almost comical. S. Rana
would say "Baji, since I am already going good, let me do the damage, while you get your eyes set!". J Rana would nod his head but while going back into his crease, he would again summon his brother to the middle and say, "I will do the damage, you stay, because you are good at staying." Jaspal Rana
artilery was on, the sixes were coming like singles. After two consecutive sixes from J Rana, a Centurion fielder (originally from Sri Lanka) who has
also played county cricket in England asked the Sunrise crowd, "who is this guy?" Parveen Sharma from Sunrise tells him: "He is Lankesh, the butcher of
S.O.C.A !!". Meanwhile, both brothers feasted on the Centurion bowling while at the same time trying to calm each in the middle. J Rana was caught on a miss hit when the score was tied. Sukhjinder Rana made 58 not out. He batted with determination to make his half-century. At the other end, Saqib Shiekh, played a wide ball and the job was complete. Sunrise thrashed Centurion in just 32 overs. The scoring was done at a brisk 6.5 runs an over.

Sunrise team celebrated with a lot of emotion. The Captain gave the man of the match title to Sukhjinder Rana. The CCA Umpire, who is a senior member with CCA, and has seen a lot of cricket commented, "I am highly impressed with Sunrise, it was refreshing to see such abundance of talent in one team, their fielding is perhaps the best I have since in this country. I wish everyone club in the TDCA division had a chance to see what I saw".

This is an edited report, originally prepared by Raghu Peddada know.one@rogers.com, Manager of Sunrise Cricket Club. Sunrise Cricket Club was formed in 1998. The team has been to SOCA playoffs since their first year. They won the league Championship last year. Under the guidance of Art Browne the club functions without individual self-interest while fostering total team spirit and role play. Sunrise also encourages and promotes juniors in the tri-city (Cambridge, Kitchener, and Waterloo) area to towards cricket.

Schedule and Scores