North Region updates and a deer on the Western front
Eddie Norfolk
Woburn CI maintained an impressive track record in Toronto outdoor schools cricket in plundering 148 runs in the Toronto District School Board East Region final on Wednesday (May 30th) at L’Amoreaux Park. This impressive total put great pressure on the Agincourt batters, and the Woburn bowlers capitalized. Agincourt was reduced to 37 all out. My understanding is that both East Region finalists – Woburn CI and Agincourt CI – advance to the City Playoffs that begin next Tuesday (June 5th). The West Region finalists from Wednesday’s playoffs at Eglinton Flats – North Albion CI and West Humber CI – also move forward to the City quarter-finals.

The North Region playoffs are scheduled for Ross Lord Park this Friday (June 1st). The standings from the North Region qualifiers are not complete. Victoria Park CI made 70 for three wickets (15 overs) but were beaten by George S Henry Academy’s 71 for five wickets in 12.1 overs on Tuesday. Three results are at hand from Wednesday’s North Region group matches. Victoria Park’s 78 for six (15 overs) lead to a 24 run success against Earl Haig Secondary School (SS). Earl Haig was bowled out for 54 runs. Victoria Park edged out Westview Centennial SS in a game where Westview made 80 for five wickets in 15 overs but Victoria Park made 84 for five wickets in 15 overs. So we know the game went down to the last ball of the allotted overs.

The other North Region result from Wednesday saw Georges Vanier SS beat John Polanyi CI by 66 runs. Georges Vanier posted a total of 119 for seven in 15 overs. John Polanyi replied with 53 fo r eight wickets in 15 overs.

So things are taking shape and there have been some informal chats around the ground which could see some improvements in the future. If scores and notes, which can be added to provide some detail to supplement the basics of how many runs each team scored, manage to find their way to the TDSB system early enough, then it could help gain more media attention for the game in the future.

That could involve delegating some relatively simple tasks to the youth rather, so they can learn about the non-playing side of the game. If results and brief news reaches a central point, then it is easier for someone to write some kind of summary about one day’s cricket results, or to sum up one week’s news for a community media outlet. So we’re on the road to improvement, despite the lack of presence of whichever Ontario cricket body exists, or even the national governing body, who seem to have decided to help promote the Indian Premier League.

But I doubt the Indian Premier League final included the passing presence of a deer, which popped by the Eglinton Flats area on Wednesday afternoon during North Albion’s innings against West Humber. It hopped over the fence surrounding the pitch and opted for the shade and food provided by the local cluster of trees and vegetation.

Eddie Norfolk