Timmins Tigers cricket team hosts Mayor's Cup Tournament
Cricket players will tell you, the sport is as important to them as a hockey is to northerners.
With more people from Asia moving to northern Ontario, it's become crucial for them to get the sport established in this part of the world.
Timmins Tigers hosted a cricket tournament. June 4/23 (Lydia Chubak/CTV Northern Ontario)
"We have almost 200, 250 people playing cricket in Thunder Bay and that’s something, especially for a place where cricket was nothing," said Stefin Cyriac, a member of the Thunder Bay Kombans cricket team.
"We’re getting more and more inquiries about are you coming for this tournament, that tournament, and that’s all around Canada."
This weekend, the Timmins Tigers hosted cricket teams from Thunder Bay and Sault Ste. Marie in the first of several tournaments this summer.
The winning team will take home the Mayor's Cup, a new trophy that the Timmins Tigers hope will help grow the sport and add a new level of prestige to the 'gentleman's game' in the north.
"You have to think outside of the box, so I thought have we ever played a Mayor’s Cup here? They said 'no,'" said Deepak Datta, a member of the Timmins Tigers team.
"Mayor (Michelle Boileau) is supportive, so why not dedicate a cup towards the mayor’s office … and it’s going to spread awareness in the whole town."
Datta said because of strong local support, it means that after graduation some people have decided to stay in the north because cricket is offered.
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
"I had a sports background, so when I was in India, I used to represent my team over there. So when I moved here, I was planning something to get something related to that, so it was good to have cricket here," said Bhavya Jain, another member of the Tigers.
The Timmins cricket team is hosting another tournament in two weeks, with teams from North Bay and Sudbury participating, and there will also be one on Canada Day weekend with teams from Brampton and Orillia coming to play.
"It helps the local economy here too because they live in the hotels, they go enjoy in the restaurant, they go enjoy in the bars and all that," said Datta.
As the sport continues to grow in the north, some clubs like Thunder Bay's is also getting children and women involved.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
Ontario Provincial Police arrest 64 suspects in child sexual exploitation investigation
Ontario Provincial Police say 64 suspects are facing a combined 348 charges in connection with a series of child sexual exploitation investigations that spanned the province.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
Blind Sask. boy heading to international braille competition hopes to increase accessibility for visually impaired
A Saskatchewan boy who qualified for an international braille competition in Los Angeles next month hopes he can inspire change in his home province.
'A step forward': New screening criteria for sperm donors takes effect
Canadians looking to grow their families with the assistance of sperm or egg donations should soon have more options for donors as the federal health agency does away with longstanding restrictions criticized as discriminatory.