Waterloo Region cricket team to compete in national tournament

A cricket team from Waterloo Region is preparing to represent Ontario on the national stage. CTV's Krista Simpson reports.

A cricket team from Waterloo Region is preparing to represent Ontario on the national stage.

The KW Kings XI, made up of the top players in the All-Rounder Cricket Club, won the John Ross Trophy qualifier back in July. They now head to Quebec this weekend to play Centennial for the Eastern Conference championship.

The team has already accomplished more than they expected.

“Nobody expected it to be honest,” says team member Manpreet Singh. “We were the underdogs.”

“We went there with as much practice as we could and the confidence that we took to the game and the team spirit that we took, that definitely drove the results to our side,” recalls player Dhruv Patel.

The team is excited to now showcase their skills at the next level.

“This is essentially a platform for players to showcase their talent, for Cricket Canada to also recognize some talent, at early stages, as well,” says team manager Paramvir Singh. “There are some older players in our club who are also very excited. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them to be able to play at the scale, at this level.”

The winner of Sunday’s game will go on to play the top team in the Western Conference.

“We are going to give our best and, we’re going to give it everything because it’s a one game, so it’s only one chance that we have,” says Patel.

Team Captain Joban Sidhu says playing at this level isn’t something he expected when he started in the sport, noting that at the time, there didn’t seem to be a lot of interest in cricket in Waterloo Region.

“We’ve have seen like tremendous growth. And you know the guys have been getting better. We’ve been facing better competition over the years. So, we have gotten better just from playing against other better players,” says Sidhu.

The KW Kings XI success is inspiring to younger players like 15-year-old Yaj Patwa, who has grown up in the sport and learned from those now heading to Quebec.

“I can become one of these other players when I get older and I can hopefully make it to the Canadian team,” Patwa says.

League organizers say interest in the sport is growing so fast, there aren’t enough cricket pitches to accommodate the demand.

“We have youth leagues that we’re organizing,” says Atamjeet Kainth, vice-president of the All-Rounder Cricket Club. “We have a lot of interest from women wanting to play cricket as well.”

It’s expected that as the sport continues to grow in the region, there will be even more talent showcased at higher levels.

“With the level of interest that we see in KW, with the sizes of clubs, with the sizes of leagues growing, it’s not long before you would see more teams competing at a higher level,” says Paramvir Singh.