2017 NYMWIA T20 Tournament Continues This Weekend

By Sam Sooppersaud
Cricket fans, the summer may be over, fall may be here with the nice hot days of summer behind us, with the chilly breeze cutting through our bodies, once in a while. But, despite these drawbacks, you do not have to starve yourselves of watching some exciting cricket. Yes, the weather may not be as ideal for cricket, as it was a few weeks ago, but the Boys of Summer are still in the cricket parks engaging in the beloved game of cricket. Yes, this coming weekend, T20 cricket will continue to entertain the diehard fans that turn out week after week to enjoy the sport.

The New York Melbourne West Indies Alliance (NYMWIA) T20 tournament will stage its third week of T20 cricket in New York. The tournament consists of six teams (franchises). They all play each other in a Round Robin system. For the playoffs, the #1 team will go directly to the final. The #2 and #3 teams will clash in the semi-final. The semi-final winner advances to the final to meet the #1 seed. Both the semi- final and the final will be played on the same day. The day, date and venue are expected to be announced shortly. The tournament winner will get $2,500 in addition to a trophy, while the runner-up will receive $500 in addition to a trophy. The competing franchises are: Melbourne NY Alliance, West Indies Alliance, Galaxy, Punjab, Everest/ACS and Pakistan Elites.

The tournament was organized through the combined efforts and hard work of the Melbourne NY Alliance Sports Club and the West Indies Alliance Sports Club. According to the organizers, the objective of the tournament is a simple one: to work together with the cricketing community to develop and promote the best cricket possible. Key committee members are Joe Siewharack (President), Glynne Hurley (Vice President), Berold Hinds (Secretary), Darius George (Treasurer), and members Bassett Thompson, Kawal Persaud and Parasram Ramsaran.

At this stage of the tournament Punjab is the leader with two wins. But, all the teams are playing exciting cricket. So far in all the games, two scores have been in excess of 160; three scores in excess of 175 runs; one score in excess of 190 runs; and one score in excess of 200 runs. The fans that have come out have been entertained with some exhilarating batting. 1,649 runs have already been scored for a total of 53 wickets. Seven batsmen have scores over 50 runs. 116 boundaries have been hit, while 60 balls have sailed high over the boundary ropes (maximums). One bowler has captured a 5-wicket haul while four bowlers have 4-wicket hauls. So cricket fans, the statistics are here to show that this is an exciting tournament.

This tournament continues this coming weekend. On Saturday, October 7th, Pakistan Elites take on Everest/ACS at 10:00 AM. Melbourne NY Alliance faces off with Pakistan Elites at 2:00 PM. Both games will be played at the Baisley Pond Park Cricket Field located at Baisley Boulevard and 150th Street in Queens. On Sunday, October 8th four games are scheduled at two different locations. West Indies Alliance meets MNYA at 10:00 AM and Galaxy clashes with West Indies Alliance at 2:00 PM. Both of these games will be played at the Idlewild Cricket Complex, 223rd Street and 147th Avenue, Rosedale, Queens. Over at Baisley Pond Park, beginning at 10:00 AM Galaxy is scheduled to meet Punjab, while at 2:00 PM Punjab plays Everest/ACS at the same venue.

So cricket fans come out and enjoy cricket while the weather is still relatively good. The franchises have pooled together the very best players in the NY metropolitan area. You may have seen these players representing their individual clubs. Now you have the opportunity to see some of them play together as a unit, a team. Don’t miss out. Remember the dates: Saturday, October 7th at Baisley Pond Park and Sunday, October 8th at Idlewild Park. See you there!

You can find the schedule and statistics of the tournament here.