TIMMINS – The long drive was worth it for the Thunder Bay Gujarat Lions cricket team.
After making the eight-and-a-half-hour journey to Timmins, the Lions headed back home with the Mayor’s Cup trophy in their possession after winning a four-team tournament on July 6 and 7.
“We didn’t get a lot of sleep with all of the travelling, but we played well and were able to win the championship,” Lions player Milan Chaudhary said.
“We were all yelling and screaming when we realized that we had won,” Lions player Suresh Prajapati added.
“We haven’t been playing those T20 games for that long, so the pressure for us is a little bit different than some other teams who have been playing for 10 years together and are used to those big games.”
The Lions received their championship trophy from Timmins Mayor Michelle Boileau after defeating the Kings Cricket Club from Sudbury, the Gujarat Titans from Oshawa, and the host Tigers.
This marked the second straight year that the Lions had made the long trek to Timmins and they were much more prepared this time around.
“We’ve also gone to Sault Ste. Marie for tournaments so we had a really good plan in place for our travel,” Chaudhary said.
“We got in (to Timmins) around midnight, did some warmups in the morning and then we were ready for our two games each day. We also did a lot of preparation with our food, our brains and our exercise plans, so we were pretty excited for the journey.”
Being ready to go is especially important during the long matches, which could go up to three hours.
“Cricket is a team sport,” Chaudhary said. “It’s not just one player that wins a match, it’s all 11 players.
“The intensity in each game happens during every minute and on every single ball. Everyone’s on their feet and they are right into the match.”
It’s been a big year already for the Lions cricket club, which was founded in 2019.
They have a new home field at Current River Park where six teams compete in league matches on Thursday and Friday evenings. They also reached the semifinal at a tournament in Sault Ste. Marie in June.
Their biggest event of the season will be from Aug. 9-11 when they host the five-team Northern Ontario Cricket Club.
“It’s been a bit of a journey to get to this point,” Prajapati said.
“Cricket is in our blood,” Chaudhary added. “We started playing cricket at a young age and for us in our home country, it’s like what it is here for kids that play baseball and hockey.
“We’re very happy that a lot of people have helped us out to make this ground here our own.”
