The 2015 Niagara international cricket festival is due to open this Friday (August 14) with the match between the Niagara Elites and India Academy XI at the Niagara Cricket Centre. Play continues on Saturday (August 15) with six teams taking part in the remaining five games in the round-robin phase of the competition. The top two teams from each of two pools then advance to Sunday morning’s (August 16) semi-finals then on Sunday afternoon the semi-final winners will meet in the tournament final at the Niagara Cricket Centre. The final is due to start at 3.30pm.

The Bhangra competition is on Sunday’s entertainment plan with a 12.30pm start at the Niagara Cricket Centre.

Niagara Elites and India Academy XI are in Pool B along with OAFL Aussies; a team drawn from the Ontario Australian Football League. The India Academy XI is currently expected to include several players who have played for the Punjab, some of whom bring Indian Premier League (IPL) experience. Smart Choice, a team largely drawn from current Canadian international players for this tournament, plus the Crescent and Hamilton Cricket Clubs of the Hamilton and District Cricket Association are in Pool A. Rizwan Cheema is expected to captain the Smart Choice team.

Three of Saturday’s round-robin games and one of Sunday’s semi-finals will be played at the Niagara Cricket Centre. Two round-robin games on Saturday plus the other semi-final will be played at John N. Allan Park, Niagara Falls.

The playing rosters will be finalized on Friday, before play begins. This allows some breathing space to make any change that may be needed if any player is unable to make the trip from overseas to the Toronto area in time.

The Niagara Cricket Festival website provides more information about the cricket tournament, including maps of the location of the two grounds, and the bhangra competition. Later this week, we expect to provide an update on the composition of the participating teams.