By: Harpreet Nanda – Challenge Division Captain

It has been a long wait, 15 years to be precise. Ironically the last time we won it, the rival was also defense and we chased down a target. I am still not sure if it has sunk in yet. We couldn’t have asked for a more Bollywood scripted ending with the two Shrichand brothers bringing it home, one playing his typical anchor rule in his swansong match and the other playing with a fractured hand.

The entire Burghs family can be extremely proud of the way the A team has played this season.

I have been playing cricket in Ottawa for 15 years and I have never seen a team in which every single playing member was a vital cog and came through/stepped up when needed.

The "young brigade" of Navdeep, Saunil, Mani and Nikhil were exceptional and full of spirit. Navdeep impressed all with his free spirited game and played a stellar role. Mani was a star in the field and chipped in with the bat. Saunil was exceptional and responded to his batting promotion with great gusto. Manikonda reserved his best for the last session of the 6 day test match.

The "not so young brigade" of Dravya, Arun, Nimeesh and Akhil were exceptional as well. These guys have been performing well for NECC over the years, but this year they showed a lot more responsibility and maturity and took leadership roles on the field. These guys were the backbone of this A team and I hope they will be terrific leaders and ambassadors for NECC in coming years. There were many stages during my captaincy this season when these guys stepped up and assisted me in strategies and took initiative. Their all-round performance on the field was phenomenal. 

The "not so young at all brigade" of Nakul, Pankaj, Masih and yours truly gave their best,old bodies, broken hands and concussion(s) not withstanding. Panky was the star as usual. His ice cool batting and an average of 158 in the S-6 and playoffs was critical to our eventual success. Naks was our seal team 6, taking out the marquee batsmen in the playoffs. Masih missed the last part due to a freak injury in the super sixes , but his experience, all round performance and endless commitment till that point was an inspiration to all the young guys.

I must thank all the guys who rotated through 12th man duties like Jawad, Deepak , Priyank for their commitment. Besides the names I have mentioned..I am very glad to see so many committed new members like Aman, Kamran, Rushi, and our other members like Kundai , Shanee, Charlie and Alti showing commitment at practices. The depth in the club is phenomenal.

Thanks to all the supporters who came by. Ken, Jaijeet, Sylvan, Dheeraj, Tanmay great job guys. Thanks to Terry for hosting us and supporting the team through the season. His presence and motivation was key to the spirit of the club, not to mention his constant supplies of tomatoes.

This has been a work in progress for the last 5 years. People like  Dom, Steve, Andrew , Sutha who have been part of this process before can feel happy and content that we were finally able to cross the line. I am sure the entire Burghs family is truly proud of the fact that we were able to accomplish this as a team with blood sweat and tears and not as a group that depended on a few stars.

In my post match speech I thanked RH and OVCC executive for managing a good season in spite of all obstacles. I would like to extend the same to our executive and people like Ajit and Ken who have helped them. It has been a challenging year from an administration perspective and they have done a great job off-field that has allowed us to do a good job on-field.

I apologize if I missed someone in my expression of gratitude. Best of luck for the t-20 season and thanks for your support.