Golden opportunity for men’s cricket team

Humber North’s extramural men’s indoor cricket team have one last shot at gold this season.

The team is set to host the Ontario Collegiate Recreation RECCup Championship tournament on March 18 at North’s Athletic Centre.

In a season of ups and downs, the squad was able to secure a spot to compete in the RECCup championship at recent tournament qualifiers. 

The team has set a goal for this final round: to win a gold.

Humber North indoor cricket head coach Taqi Baig said this tournament is important for the team to win games with good margins. 

“There is one goal. I told the team from day one, when we started in September, we had to win this tournament, the final tournament, which is the RECCup,” he said.

Last year, Humber North lost in the RECCup championship game against Conestoga. The team took home second-place honours, but the coaches and players are looking for a different outcome this year.

“Home advantage, we have practiced here for the last eight months,” Baig said. “This time the gym is one and a half (times larger) compared to the regular practice.

He said the team plays better in the larger facility, considering the squad won five tournaments at home.

During practices, both the North and the Lakeshore teams come together and play against each other to prepare for the challenges that the teams will face and work on areas that need improvement.

Gokul Krishnan, a second-year Interactive Media Management student and a member of the North team, said the practices are going well.

“We’ve been having so many sessions, at least, you know, two or three per week. We’re getting good with being as a whole unit and all that,” Krishnan said.

The team is looking towards improving areas of their game in their practices.

“There’s a lot of things, you know, how to bat, how to watch the ball. The line and length of bowling the ball, and improving on the basics of the game,” Krishnan said.

The team says they’ll be ready for the tournament and that they do not really feel any pressure heading to this tournament.

“We don’t want to think about the other teams much. We just think about ourselves, when the game is on, just play the ball, that’s it,” Krishnan said.

Humber Lakeshore’s cricket team will be participating in this tournament. They will be looking forward to a different result after only securing one win and a loss in last year’s RECCup Tournament.

Udit Oza, a fourth-year accounting student and a member of the Lakeshore’s team, said the team wants to win the RECCup.

“We have not won a single tournament, so we just want to break the cold streak and win this tournament,” Oza said.

The Lakeshore team has practiced with the North team a few times this season, giving them a slight home advantage.

“We have been practicing a lot on this ground. This is our fourth time coming here and just practicing with the North team. It has been good so far,” Oza said.