Shelburne Gladiators excited to bring cricket to the community

Written By BRIAN LOCKHART

The Shelburne Gladiators faced the Mississauga Ramblers in an exhibition cricket match, billed as the first cricket match in Shelburne, on Saturday, August 29.

The match took place at KTH Park, in the outfield of the existing baseball diamond at the park. The cricket pitch was was laid out with markers indicating the boundaries of play.

The Gladiators are a new team in town.

They had hoped to get into league play this summer but the COVID-19 pandemic put most sports on hold this year, cricket included.

“We started the Club four weeks ago,” explained Gladiators club president and treasurer, Anand “Raj” Jagdeo. “We have wanted to do this for a while. We were out on the grounds last August, however, we had to put everything in place like the constitution and bylaws and things like that, so we couldn't start anything last year. We were supposed to start in May but because of COVID we were only able to start up when they opened phase three.”

Mr. Jagdeo has a history in the sport having played the game when he lived in Brampton. He had a connection to the Mississauga team and suggested they play the exhibition game.

“I've known the president of the Ramblers for many years having lived and played in Brampton,” Mr. Jagdeo said. “I was able, very easily, to convince him to bring his team up here for a game. We have future plans providing the Town will accommodate us. This is not really the right place to play. The game should be played on a proper cricket pitch. This is just an exhibition game to raise awareness of and promote the game in Shelburne.”

Cricket is played with two teams of eleven players each. The field is circular or oval in shape with the boundary marked in several different ways depending on the field.

The batting area is a rectangular pitch with targets called wickets, placed 22 yards apart.

Cricket is traditionally not played if it is raining. The exhibition game was delayed when a drizzle started and players left the field. It was not a long delay and the game got underway about 20 minutes late.

There won't be enough time this season to get league play underway, but the Gladiators are looking forward to the challenge next spring.