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‘It reminds us of our childhood’: cricket gaining momentum with newcomers in Regina

The Saskatchewan Cricket Association dates back to 1977, but it has only recently started to take off. Dave Parsons / Global News

The Saskatchewan Cricket Association dates back to 1977, but it has only recently started to take off. It’s grown from just 16 teams a few years ago to more than 50.

“We can easily reach 75 to 80 teams. We can’t reach more than 51 teams this year due to the [lack] of availability of grounds,” Saskatchewan Cricket Association president Sam Kahn said.

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Tony Mathews moved from India a few years ago, where cricket is played all the time in one way or another.

He helped start one of the newest cricket leagues in Regina, the Vikings Cricket Club. It’s a team that invites amateurs and people who have never played the sport to give it a try.

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Most the people on the team are from India, South Africa and Pakistan.

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“It reminds us of our childhood and how we were brought up, it’s great,” Mathews said.

“In India it’s divided into many states and each state has it’s own language. So all of use here don’t speak the same native language, so we speak in English, so that is the team bond we have here.”

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The sport is getting so popular that for the first time a women’s league has been created. The Titans Divas started practices earlier this summer.

“It’s way to [get] out of your house, to put effort in and get [better] skills out and getting to socialize with people,” Titans Divas’ Nisha Dalip said.

Mathews hopes this will encourage others to get involved so he can continue share his passion for the sport for years to come.

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“They’re so interested in watching how the new sport is getting played. I just wish they get more attracted towards it and you know join a club or a team and you know try it out and see if you like it,” Mathews said.

“It’s a team sport, that is the main thing. It requires so much team support, to win games and that is what we tried to build [on] with cricket.”

Indoor cricket leagues are being planned for the fall.

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