The ‘Spirit of Cricket Tournament’ held between different cricket playing migrant ethnic groups is one of the most significant events of the year.
Muthtamil Sangam (Sangam), which hosted the ‘Spirit of the Cricket Tournament’ this year, won the Championship title at the final match held at the Auckland Domain on April 1, 2012. Desi Warriors were declared the Runners-Up, followed by the Telugu Association, which took the third place.
Eleven teams competed in the event, making it one of the most memorable sporting events of the year.
All the eleven teams showed ‘Never say die attitude,’ and played with competitive spirit. There was a tough fight among Desi Warriors, Sangam, Telugu Association and Probase, enabling them to reach the semifinal.
The semifinal between Sangam and Probase was a thriller that ended up as a tie. But the former was declared the winner since they had defeated the latter at the league stage.
Sangam players gave their best, with a well-compiled opening stand of 51 runs between Chakravarthy and Aaron for the first six overs. Chakravarthy started well with a boundary off the first ball, capitalising on which, all the batsman played well to pile up 112 Runs
The following were honoured at the Awards presentation ceremony:
Man of the Match: Chakravarthy (Muthtamil Sangam)
Best Batsman: Kanishk (205 Runs) Telugu Association
Best Bowler: Param Bajwa (28 Wickets) Desi Warriors
Player of the Tournament: Param Bajwa (125 Runs and 28 Wickets)
Fair Play Award: Tuf Xi
Among those present at the Awards ceremony were Happy NZ Tours Director Senthil Nathan (Chief Guest), Mortgage Masters Managing Director and Sangam President Nathan Saminathan, Mercury Printz Director Ilango Krishnamoorthy and New Zealand Police National Strategic Ethnic Advisor Inspector Rakesh Naidoo (Guests of Honour).
We participate in Cricket matches and tournaments as a part of our efforts to promote the game among the younger members of our community.
Constable Wells Albert is Ethnic Peoples Community Relations Officer (Waitakere Area) of the New Zealand Police, Captain of the Muthtamil Cricket team and a member of the panel of judges of the Indian Newslink Indian Sports Awards 2012. He is seen in the picture appearing here holding the Trophy with his team.
