All Nations Cricket Festival approaching finals this weekend

The second day of the All Nations Cricket Festival held in Christchurch on Sunday, December 9 with seven matches moving towards the last five games of the pool before the finals.  

Christchurch Multicultural Council organises the T20 tournament and Christchurch Metro Cricket Association hosting ten teams in their second season with more than 110 players participating in the tournament.  

The second day of the tournament witnessed some stellar performances from each of the ten teams giving a nail-biting end to almost every match.  

“The second day of the pool games was excellent- we saw a lot of enthusiasm amongst the players and their supporters who cheered their teams at the Hagley Oval,” President of Multicultural Society, Surinder Tandon told The Indian Weekender.  

The second day saw seven matches played and the third and final day of the tournament will see another five pool games and the final that will name the champions for 2018 season.  

“Most of our players in these ten teams play for different league games and at other clubs- and this tournament helps them get prepared for the other regional and national tournaments,” Mr Tandon added.  

The second day of the tournament saw three teams consistently performing well and leading in terms of total wins. Doon Tigers won two matches in the first day and one match in the second day, making a total of three wins. Strikers too won three total matches with two wins on the first day and leading the second day was Punjab Warriors who won all three matches played in two days.  

The highest scorers in the second day were Trev Garrett with 100 not out and Raj Arora with 58 from the All Rounders, Harish Sharma from the Strikers with 51 runs, Umair from Cornered Tigers with 52 and Randhika and Habib from All Stars with their 50 and 52 runs.  

The best bowlers in the second day were Jeewan Bear from Doon Tigers with five wickets for 18 runs, Arun Bharadwaj from Kings XI Punjab with 5 for 27 runs and Harpreet Singh with 3 for 24 runs.   

This brings the tournament fixture to Punjab Warriors, Strikers and Doon with total three matches, Nepal Warriors, All Rounders and All Stars with two wins, Cornered Tigers with one win and Kings XI Punjab, Tamil Pasangya and Tamil Society with zero wins.   

“We have mixed ethnic teams in ARA All Nations T20 Cricket Tournament showcasing cross-ethnicity/nationality integration, friendship and harmony.  The All Stars team is led by captain Habib Marwat, which has players representing Pakistani, Indian, Afghani, Sri Lankan and New Zealand origins- well done,” Mr Tandon said.   

The tournament is supported by Ara Institute of Canterbury, Little India Merivale, Travel Corner, Ravel Events, Tech Doctor and Taaftan- Moroccan Grill Restaurant.  

The last pool games and final will be held on Sunday, December 16 at Hagley Oval in Christchurch from 10 a.m.