Sunny View Middle School (Brampton) beat Roberta Bondar Public School (Brampton) in the Final’s “Super Over” to capture the North Peel Boys Championship on Tuesday May 24, 2016 at “Dixie Hwy 407 Park”, using the title at the park’s entrance. Both schools scored 24 runs from 5 overs in the Final. Sunny View then made 11 runs in the Super Over and restricted Roberta Bondar to 7 runs to win the Final. Sunny View’s girls team had captured the North Peel Girls Cricket Championship last Friday (May 20, 2016). So a championship double for Sunny View was completed on Monday.
The third round of Group matches had a limit of 5 overs per innings, rather than 6 overs due to time constraints. The Final and third-place playoff games were also played with a 5 overs per innings limit. So, as previously stated, Sunny View and Roberta Bondar each scored 24 runs from 5 overs in the Final, so the game went to that extra over per side to decide the Championship.
Eight Schools in the Boys Playoffs
Eight schools qualified for the North Peel Boys playoffs from a qualifying field of about 30 schools. Beryl Ford Public School (Brampton) began the day by edging out Roberta Bondar 40/39 in Group B, then lost 29/27 to Lougheed Middle School (Brampton) and wilted 29/14 later in the day against Robert H. Lagerquist Senior Public School (Brampton). In an event where a wide counts as a basic 2 runs, with a possibility of the batters making an extra run if the wide ball beats the wicketkeeper, Lagerquist’s bowlers with a good line in this game.
Roberta Bondar rallied with a 35/31 win against Lagerquist then followed-up with a win against Lougheed to win Group B and qualify for the Final. Lagerquist had begun the day with 29 runs for 7 wickets from 6 overs and bowled Lougheed out for 21 runs from 5.5 overs to win by 8 runs. There are six balls in an over in the normal course of cricket, these days. So Lougheed was out 1 ball before the limit of 6 overs in this match.
Group A began with Sunny View edging out Sir John A MacDonald Senior Public School (Brampton) with a 37/36 win. Having beaten a school named after Canada’s first Prime Minister, Sunny View beat a school named after an Ontario Premier, W.G. Davis Senior Public School (Brampton) 34-29. Sir John A. MacDonald beat Cheyne Middle School (Brampton) 37/19 and beat W.G. Davis 27/25 to qualify for the bronze medal playoff game.
Appreciated Event Not Widely Known
The North Peel outdoor championship for boys and girls has been running for a few years, based on what I was told and heard from different coaches and tournament coordinator Mr. Andrew Laidlaw during Friday’s (May 20) and yesterday’s (May 24) playoffs. Awareness of these championships has generally been well known by teachers involved in school sports. Mr. Laidlaw’s efforts were well appreciated, based on comments by attending coaches. Mr. Laidlaw, in turn, was particularly happy to see the enthusiasm of the girls taking part in Friday’s
championship.
It may seem strange, but it is fitting to support this initial report about Tuesday’s North Peel Boys Championship with a picture of the backs of the heads of two unnamed players. But, it is a reflection on the broader realms of what I often think of as “anonymous cricket in Canada”. So many simple, basic questions exist, even in representative domestic cricket in Canada, indeed even in Canadian Under-19 teams: who knows who the teams are, or who knows who the teams are?
Beyond the teams and players, grounds are sometimes used that are almost featureless in terms of comforts for players, coaches and, should they exist, spectators.
But in some situations, such as schools and junior cricket, there are restrictions on what information can be disclosed if clearance is not known to exist from parents or guardians of those below a particular age.
Middle of Nowhere Ground?
Although yesterday’s ground is called after two nearby main roads, one now a pay-for-use highway, one or two mentioned it being “in the middle of nowhere”. The nearby Pearson International Airport results in a large amount of nearby land being used for that airport and the presence of much supporting services, including distribution, truck and container depots without any local large retail mall or retail complexes. Someone even pointed out that when leaving the ground by road, you can only turn right and head north.
Indeed, fate meant the bus I used to reach the ground did not seem to stop until Highway 407 had been crossed on Tuesday, seemingly missing the stop next to the park entrance. So I made use of a Country Style Donuts facility to have breakfast. It seemed to be a source of amusement that breakfast was ordered around 11.30am. But “All Day Breakfast” was advertised and provided some basic food and drink. So after some food, the walk south, down Dixie, to the ground provided the opportunity to take some pictures. Pictures of the relatively faceless expanse of soccer grounds, with some cricket features, that comprise the current “Dixie Hwy 407 Park”.
Dixie Hwy 407 sports ground
Surely, for me, it was a golden opportunity if on life’s journey I seek to “always look on the bright side of life”, as a song in the British “Monty Python” TV series implored. Indeed, I had been open to the possibility of first visiting Centennial Park, Etobicoke on Tuesday morning before moving on to Dixie Hwy 407 Park. But news via e-mail confirmed the Toronto District High Schools Boys Western Division cricket semi-finals and final had been completed last Friday. North Albion Collegiate won. So it became first stop: North Peel Cricket Boys Championship.
Congratulations
Congratulations to Sunny View on winning both the Girls and Boys Championships, best wishes to all the players and teachers who have created these events. Special thanks to event coordinator
Mr. Andrew Laidlaw.
Cricket’s Broader Needs in the GTA, Ontario and Canada
In the longer term, those at the helm of Ontario and Greater Toronto Area (GTA) cricket might do some work in estimating the cost of making infrastructure improvements to various parks with basic or better cricket playing facilities, and seek funding support from government and the corporate world so such improvements become a reality. Cricket could do with some “mighty acts” by those elected as leaders of the sport at all levels from club, through league, province and to the national helm, in my opinion. My hopes may not be high, short term, as a result of last Friday’s Cricket Canada elections. Hopes that could improve with evidence of solid improvements to past performances by some of Canadian cricket’s proclaimed leaders.
At least one of the teams on Tuesday only had two pairs of batting pads. A situation that resulted in some delays, notwithstanding the prospect that although a majority of players may be right- handed batters, some bat left-handed, so at least three pairs of pads would be needed and preferably at least four pairs.
In a schools context, this would require budgets to be presented and approved in a process that would involve many conflicting requests with significantly different cost-benefits in the overall scheme of things. A budgeting and approval process that is likely to be more substantial, at present, than at various Canadian cricket clubs and representative bodies of different levels.
Broader issues for a different day, notwithstanding the presence in my bags on Tuesday of a copy of the “Special Review for the Premier of Ontario: Year-end Grants Provided by the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration” [Office of the Auditor General of Ontario, July 26, 2007”.]
Certainly my cricket interests in life were free from using the word “notwithstanding” before I first ventured to Canada in 1984. I doubt I had used the word in any other written context until the last 20-or so years. But it adds a certain Canadian flavour, as would maple syrup. Hopefully, in short-years to come some of the players in these North Peel championships may find their way on merit into Ontario then Canadian junior and senior representative teams.
Eddie Norfolk May 25, 2016