Eddie Norfolk photo

Some scores have now been posted on the official website for several of the games played so far this week at Sunnybrook Park in the 2012 CIMA Mayors Schools Cricket tournament. I suspect the person who provided the scoring details was not around for whatever game or games took place at 3pm on Tuesday afternoon. So the tournament leader should check the official website and ensure all the scores, to date, have been submitted and that the group standings and playoff results both (a) exist and (b) are correct. The element of such scores being provided in an accurate, timely and efficient manner has been lost, so far, but things could be salvaged during Wednesday and Thursday’s games.

It is probably a bit too late to fix various gremlins in the underlying match scoring system (the same system used in Saturday’s Toronto T20 All Star Game at the Rogers Centre/SkyDome) and the less than stellar tables of group standings it creates (if the teams actually playing in a group are the same – coincide – with the games listed as being in a group). For example, David and Mary Thomson played in the Senior Boys Group G on Tuesday at Sunnybrook Park, but were not in Group F on Monday (although listed in that group F). Newtonbrook played in Group F on Monday and not Group G on Tuesday.

So, thanks to some special insertions of scorecards and summary cards on the home page of the official tournament website, one can work out, for the Senior Boys schools event, that Agincourt won Group E on Monday, Lester B. Pearson won F on Monday and Woburn won Group H on Tuesday. In Monday’s quarter final playoff at Sunnybrook Park, it appears Lester B. Pearson (45 runs for 3 wkts) beat Vanier (44 for 7 wkts). Senior Boys games are played as 12-overs per side. Junior Boys and Girls matches are played as 10-overs per side.

At some point, the scores that decided Group G will, hopefully, appear, as will other missing information and “bonus” scores (compared with the listed schedules) from playoff round matches, such as Tuesday’s 3pm game at Sunnybrook Park. As might a synopsis on whatever took place at Eglinton Flats on Tuesday after the 9am round of matches.

Somebody involved in leading this tournament might have created a results board at each ground that could list the day’s schedule, summary scores after matches conclude, special notes and news (as necessary) and, perhaps a really radical suggestion, news of games from the other ground and from previous days. Perhaps the scoreboards might be used to display the scores from games in progress, even if updates were only made at the end of each over!

As for fixing glitches in schedules, results and standings on the event website….well, perhaps something could be done. I was silly enough to try and print out the detailed scores from Monday’s results at Eglinton Flats (four of six games have been posted on the site). The page headings and the footer came out, but the scoring details did not print, but it was time to take off for the Tuesday action when I tried to print the scores. But in order to gain broader publicity, getting the scores into a central system accurately and timely is a key starting point.

Perhaps if each day’s summary scores were all posted by 5pm there might be some daily newspaper coverage, for example. Also, not all in the broader Toronto, Ontario, Canadian and global markets would realize “WH”, as in “WHCI”, stands for West Humber (Collegiate Institute).

Then some individual highlights and oddities might be reported, such as one batsman scored all 32 runs off the bat in Agincourt’s 46 all out against Cardinal Newman. There were 14 extras (or sundries), so not even one single came from any other batsman in that innings.

Or the over at Eglinton Flats where a left-handed batsman hit consecutive sixes, followed by a quick single that turned into five runs due to a fielder’s wild throw, aimed at producing a run out, that sailed off to the boundary to provide four overthrows. Toss in a wide or two and a no-ball, and you have a crucial over that surely made the difference for Lambton-Kingsway Middle School against 2011 Middle School champions Smithfield. The players in this game were wearing the tournament T-shirts that include the names of the sponsors and organizers of this tournament.

Of course, some of the missing pieces are not unique to this event. Various other Canadian tournaments and events follow the same model. Why settle for live scores when you can have lively scores that float up and down, as if impacted by market speculators who have invested in Canadian cricket tournament team scores futures in Chicago, or some consortium of bookies based in the Sahara desert, or Antarctica serving the needs of passing camels and penguins. But Tuesday closed with signs of improvement, but not from official sources. Private enterprise. People interested in the underlying sport and the participating players, umpires, scorers and spectators, not to mention the sponsors, without whom this event might not be taking place.

People doing what the tournament leader, or the sanctioning cricket body or bodies (let’s not forget the Federal/Provincial/Municipal divides) should be doing, or sorting out in pre-event planning.

Eddie Norfolk

Summary Scores for Games at Sunnybrook Park
(based on central website details posted Tuesday)

Note: All games listed here were played in the Senior Boys quest for the CIBC Trophy/Cup

Group E (played Monday)

Agincourt 39 for 1 wkt (7.1 ov) beat Cedarbrae 38 all out (12 ov) by 9 wickets
Cardinal Newman 50 for 7 wkts (12 ov) beat Agincourt 46 all out (9 ov) by 3 wickets
Cedarbrae 48 for 7 wkts (11.5 ov) beat Cardinal Newman 31 all out (10.1 ov) by 17 runs

Group F (played Monday)

Lester B. Pearson 45 for 3 wkts (10.1 ov) beat George Vanier 44 for 7 wkts (12 ov) by 7 wickets
Lester B. Pearson 114 for 2 wkts (12 ov) beat Newtonbrook 19 all out (9.5 ov) by 95 runs
George Vanier 76 for 4 wkts (12 ov) beat Newtonbrook 20 all out (tba ov) by 56 runs

Monday playoff /quarter final (group winners)

Lester B. Pearson 45 for 3 wkts (10.1 ovs ) beat George Vanier 44 for 7 wkts (12 ov) by 7 wickets

Group H (played Tuesday)

Woburn 23 for 1 wkt beat Winston Churchill 19 all out (10 ov) by 9 wickets
Woburn 114 for 2 wkts (12 ov) beat Wexford 31 for 9 wkts (12 ov) by 83 runs
Winston Churchill 78 for 6 wkts beat Wexford 77 for 6 wkts by 4 wickets

Caveat emptor: Best efforts basis information around 3.30am Wednesday morning