The Yorkton Cricket Association is geared up for its demonstration match, which will be held tonight at 6 p.m. at Heritage Heights Park.
"The guys are really excited about bringing this sport to a hometown audience for the first time," said Thom Barker, Yorkers public relations manager. "For most of our players, who hail from southeast Asia, cricket is like hockey is to us.
Like most sports, cricket is simple on the surface, but complex to fully appreciate, Barker explained.
"What I get from people I talk to, is that they're curious, but really don't understand it," he said. "We hope this game will clarify a lot of the questions people have."
The Yorkers are currently in their inaugural season in the Saskatchewan Cricket League, which now boasts 16 teams.
The season has been up and down for the Yorkton squad. Despite having only managed one win, Captain Faisal Anwar, is pleased that the team has shown some real competitive spark at times.
"We have a lot of talented boys," he said. "If we just cut down on a few mistakes, we can compete with most of the teams in this league."
The Yorkers latest effort against the Panthers July 20 in Regina, was one such close call.
In the first innings, Yorkers batsmen put up a decent total of 112 runs for only four wickets lost.
During the Panthers innings, strong bowling performances by Anwar, vice-captain Raj Ramachandran and all-rounder Hitesh Mankotia kept the Panthers' run rate in check. It took the Regina team a full 18 overs to chase down Yorkton's score.
"If we just could have put up a total of about 130, we would have won that game," Ramachandran said. "But it's a good result for a first-year team."
The Yorkers play both formats of cricket offered by the Saskatchewan league, the short format T-20 (20 overs) and longer One Day Provincial (ODP, 40 overs).
Tonight's match, an intra-squad game will be a modified 12-over format to keep it simple. Barker will be on the sidelines to explain the action and rules.
