Smithfield Middle School
Smithfield Middle School scored 44 for five wickets from eight overs then limited West Humber Junior Middle School to 36 for five to win Wednesday’s Toronto West Division Boys Middle Schools playoff game by eight runs. Meanwhile, the Toronto East Division Boys Middle Schools are scheduled to play at Sunnybrook Park on Thursday (May 15). Smithfield qualifies for Friday’s (May 16) CIBC Trophy Toronto Boys Middle Schools final at Sunnybrook Park. The Toronto East Division Boys Middle Schools are scheduled to play at Sunnybrook Park on Thursday (May 15).
It seemed the small boundaries used in these games made it difficult to score a run off the bat from a well struck ball that went straight to a fielder in a deep position. Such a shot tended to reach the fielder too quickly, but a lesser powered shot brought the chance of a single. If the players had had enough outdoor playing opportunities this year some of the balls that did not go very far off the bat in front of the wicket might have been turned into quick singles.
The Toronto West Division playoff game reversed the outcome of the round-robin game in which West Humber (won 3, lost 0) had beaten Smithfield (W 2, L 1) by seven wickets. West Humber had bowled out Smithfield for 36 after 7.2 overs and replied with a 37/2 from 5.5 overs. Amesbury Middle School, making a first appearance in the CIMA Mayor’s School Cricket competition, placed third in the round robin with one win and two defeats. Amesbury’s win came against Kingsway-Lambton Middle School, who were lost all three games on Wednesday.
The Western Division Playoff Game
Smithfield opening bat Abdullah Abdullah hit an early six but was then caught and the batsmen struggled to keep runs from the bat ticking along. Fellow opener Indermohan Gill failed to register a run but the score ticked along thanks to various wides and byes. Bharga Patel also made seven, including one boundary, before retiring hurt. Jaskaran Kalsi was stumped for four during an eventful eighth and final over of the innings. Het Patel’s over began with two stumpings and he bowled another batter. It was his only over and his three wickets cost just four runs.
It must be said that some pressure may have existed on the batsmen due to the potential for the clouds to burst open, in addition to the previously noted issues challenges of scoring singles off the bat. The short boundaries allowed the bowling side to send down the next ball without much of a breather for a batsman. Sometimes either the batsman or the bowler took a few extra seconds before shaping up to receive or bowl the next ball.
In the bigger picture there will not have been many days to play outdoor cricket in the Greater Toronto Area this year due to an excess of cold weather and snow, followed by rain on the first projected weekend of outdoor play in local cricket leagues.
Smithfield’s bowlers kept to a line that generally met the encouraging cries of “no wides” and “don’t stray down the legside”, although West Humber’s Aayush Patel provided the best innings of the game. He put one legside stray away for six, followed by clipping a ball on a better line over the square leg boundary and produced a drive over long-on in the last over that kept hopes of a West Humber win alive.
This last six would not have been struck if a catch at mid-wicket had been held a few balls earlier. But the ball reached the fielder rather quickly, the catch was dropped but the fielder stayed calm, gathered the ball and threw it to the wicketkeeper to complete a run out.
Ultimately better line and length bowling carried the day in this last over when no run came from the fifth ball, followed by a reasonable ball that elminated the chance of the extra ball or two that could have opened the door for a West Humber victory.
If the outdoor cricket season had been able to begin earlier in Toronto then some of the stray deliveries, particularly during the Smithfield innings, would likely have produced quite a few runs off the bat. But at least this tournament has provided the chance for many young players, some fairly new to cricket, to gain some match playing experience. By contrast, with more play under their belts for the season the bowlers might not have strayed as much.
Overall the players and their mentors seemed to enjoy playing and gained experience in tactical thinking that might be useful in other walks of life. An outcome that is one of the hopes of those involved in the organizing, promotion and sponsorship of this competition
Eddie Norfolk