As the season kicks off, a look at how cricket helps Indians feel at home in Christchurch
Having lived in Austria and UK before relocating to Christchurch two seasons ago, Suhas Nawada, a doctorate student at University of Canterbury's chemical engineering department, was itching to restart his club-level cricket career once again.
“Even though it's such a pretty city, nobody plays cricket in Vienna where I lived with my family. It was a bit better in Sheffield, UK, where I moved for my masters. But Christchurch is way better in terms of cricket infrastructure, playing opportunities, and the welcoming attitude locals have towards cricket-playing immigrants like me. Cricket is a religion in India, with Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar a de facto god. So while Christchurch with its 'white city' image may sometimes feel alien to people from the Indian sub-continent, cricket definitely helps in smoothening the settling-in for a lot of us,” noted Nawada, who incidentally was also the player of the season for Christchurch's renowned 111-year-old cricket club St Albans' 3C team last year.
Alan Jamieson, who is the president of St Albans Cricket Club added, “Christchurch is home to around 10,000 active cricket players with many from India. Apart from the obvious difference in playing conditions, with more bouncy and less turning pitches, Indians may find it difficult to adjust to the cold weather and the different cricket culture in Christchurch initially. But once that is taken care of, we find the love and passion Indians have for the sport is just amazing.”
One thing that shines out for all Indians playing club cricket in Christchurch is the infrastructure that the city has put in place even after suffering the devastating earthquakes of 2010-11.
Bibin Joy, vice-captain of Marist Harewood Eco Travels 3B cricket team, who hails from Kerala and has been in Christchurch since 2012, “While all of us have sweet memories of playing street cricket in India, what we have here is something special, especially in terms of the number of pitches.”
Mike Harvey, General Manager at Christchurch Metropolitan Cricket Association (CMCA) – the organisation that looks after the adult club and youth Cricket in the city, explains,”During the season, we have at least 100 functioning cricket pitches – combining the artificial ones used for junior cricket as well as the clay turfs. Also, the money spent to run the season successfully every year by all stakeholders including the CMCA, City Council and Canterbury Cricket is between three to four million dollars, which is quite substantial for such a small city.”
Harvey also informs that out of the total 125 cricket teams across all grades in Christchurch, around 6 to 8 have mostly Indian players. “These teams are mainly from Marist Harewood, East Christchurch Shirley, Addington and Halswell cricket clubs,” he said.
One of these teams is East Christchurch Shirley's 3B team King's XI Punjab, whose captain Sahib Sasan – from Jammu and Kashmir in India – shifted to the Garden City in 2010. “I think cricket plays a dual-role in terms of developing Indian-Kiwi as well as Indian-Indian camaraderie. While it helps Indians immigrating to Christchurch integrate in the local culture, it also aids in us getting to know other Indians who are already settled here. We moved to Christchurch in search of a better life. That better life also has cricket in it, is definitely an added bonus.”
“One of my favourite images from this winter is how in June and July when the entire city was shivering and the grass was covered in icy frost, I use to come to our club's pavilion at Hagley Oval on Sundays only to find a group of Indians playing cricket at the nearby Hagley Park in bone-chilling cold. This is so inspiring for all of us,” concluded Jamieson.