New Edinburgh Cricket Club Ottawa News story


Feature Article: The Burghs Family

18 May 2010

Author: Dravya Sharma
We are the New Edinburgh Cricket Club (The Burghs)! There is a sense of pride and passion that underpins the makeup of this club. It is a team where its players come from all around the world to play the sport that is a religion for some, Cricket. While Cricket is the reason we all get together, we are together for reasons beyond this sport. The Burghs family is just that; a family where you have your worthy leaders and their followers, the veterans and the youth of tomorrow, the reunions and the parties, the drama and the leg pulling, the elation's and the disappointments and if you asked some of us we'd even name you a mother-in-law or two.

This is the beauty about Cricket (or arguably, any sport). It gets people from different walks of life together to pursue a passion. Unlike some sports, cricket is played all around the world and in every continent and what better place to play the sport than Canada, where multiculturalism is a way of life. NECC is proud to be so culturally diverse. We have members who have originally come from India, Pakistan, Australia, England, Guyana, Trinidad and Jamaica, to name a few.

We all may have different native languages, however, everyone understands the language of cricket. It is only in this sport where you can "bowl a Maiden over" or a "silly point" can win you the game or see "short le" with a helmet. We have leveraged such language in attracting Canadian-born players as well (both male and female) who first thought Cricket was either an insect or a cell phone company. In fact, in a 3-4 year span, one of our lady members has not only become an integral part of the club, but also, has gone on to represent Team Canada in women's cricket. The dedication and support needed to achieve this level, is a true testament to the Burghs' spirit.

Yes, we all had joined the club to enjoy cricket. Yes, we all wanted the sport to be our recreation in the summer and yes, we all thought we'd have some fun along the way. But, I doubt anyone thought it would have such an effect on our lives. The people that make up this team and the spirit that lives here is awe-worthy. The friendships developed will last a life-time and go well beyond cricket. Also, it's ridiculously evident that members put the club ahead of themselves. To see the club succeed, people have innovated on processes, held strategy sessions in Loblaws, taken time-off-work, flown in from another city just to play a game, driven upwards of 10,000 KMs to play a season, played with broken fingers, played hung over, sacrificed vacation for a crucial game, planned weddings around games. The list goes on and on! Sure, there is that passion for cricket that we all share, however, the extent to people's sacrifices suggests it's for the club; it's for that pride of being part of the Burgh's family.

We also go beyond cricket. Way beyond! Like a family, we have made fishing trips, celebrated birthdays, held Memorial events and reunions, traveled across cities and across the world for team mates weddings, fundraised for charity and in doing so, we have had memories that we'll cherish forever.

It is this lethal combination of the passion for the sport and the camaraderie among members that has propelled the club to reach new high heights on the field and be trendsetters off the field. In everyday life's cacophony, the internal voices of enjoying life usually go unheard. In NECC, we make it loud and clear, that amidst the tensions of winning championships, having fun and staying a happy family is a fundamental goal.