MECCC committee members present the donation check to Ronald McDonald House representative.
The 2nd edition of the Malayalee Ecumenical Church Cricket Championship (MECCC) lit up a cloudy day at Cunningham Park, Queens, NY on August 12th.
The charity tournament in which eight churches from the NY Tri-State region battled for bragging rights was enjoyed by a sizable crowd. In the final match, Mar Gregorios Orthodox Church of Staten Island came out victorious against Vincent De Paul Church of Elmont, and was crowned the champions of the second edition.
The MECCC is an annual charity event where all the proceeds would be donated to a selected charity organization. For the second straight year, MECCC donated all the proceeds from the event to the Ronald McDonald House of Long Island. Ronald McDonald House representative Barbara Kopp accepted a check of $1, 2000 on behalf of the organization, which provides housing and accommodation for kids that are sick. During the presentation ceremony, Ms. Kopp thanked the organizers for conducting a successful cricket tournament, and also for the graceful donation to the organization.
The MECCC was conducted in the Super 8s format with eight teams, eight players per team, and eight overs per side. A total of eight churches representing various denominations from across New York and New Jersey came together to make the event a grand success.
In a one-sided final, Mar Gregorios Church batted first and put up a challenging score of 88 in the allotted 8 overs. The batting of Mar Gregorios Church was powered by their captain Midhul Jacob who top-scored with 31 runs.
In reply, Vincent De Paul church failed to put up a fight and was bowled out for 35 runs within the 8 overs. None of the batsmen were able to get a decent score as the scoreboard pressure kept mounting at the fall of each wicket. The chief destroyer with the ball was also Midhul Jacob, who picked up 3 wickets in his 2 overs. Midhul Jacob was adjudged the Man of the Match of the Final for his all-round display.
In a glittering presentation ceremony, Mar Gregorios Church of Staten Island was crowned the champions, and Vincent De Paul was awarded the runner’s up trophy. Sony Mathew of Vincent De Paul was chosen as the Best Batsman for being the leading run scorer of the tournament with 91 runs in 3 matches. Eby Baby of Vincent De Paul was chosen as the Best Bowler for being the highest wicket taker with 9 wickets in 3 matches.
The organizers of the event declared the event a grand success and thanked the participating teams, sponsors, and the fans that supported this noble venture. The organizers also promised a bigger and better tournament next year.