New Edinburgh Cricket Club Ottawa News story


President's Message

05 Jun 2010


Cricket season 2010 is upon us. Typical of cricket in this part of the world, we’ve already played one twenty-twenty game in near-zero temperatures and occasional flurries. Fun stuff.

That little rant at the weather aside, the last few months have been eventful and fruitful for the Burghs. Winter training saw an influx of new players to the club. In fact, almost half of the team for our first B division game were playing their first fifty-over game in Ottawa. This has been a fantastic development for the club, especially given our challenges in retaining players last year. Some of these new players have already shown much promise. Kundai Marume has taken a “five-for” on debut, and Gokul Kamat scored a half-century in his first fifty-over game for the club. Given the intensity on display at practices, undoubtedly more such results are to follow.

Much progress has also been made by our longer-term players. The strides that our younger players have taken over the last couple of seasons are clearly reflected in their elevation to captaincy roles this year. In Akhil Shah, Nimeesh Kaushal and Dravya Sharma we have three captains in their mid-20s, a fact that augurs well for NECC’s future.

Off the field, the 2010 Executive has been very active with a number of novel ventures: A highly successful pre-season talent show, dinner & dance was held in April; two weeks ago, twenty club members went on a cottaging and fishing rendezvous to Lac Cayamant, QC; and a tour game has been organized with the Pirates of the St Lawrence in Montreal this July. Efforts have already been initiated to make this year’s Memorial Game, slated for August, the most successful one to date.

On the administrative front, the Executive has attempted to update our structures and processes. A long-overdue review of the club constitution was undertaken and several changes were introduced to ensure that current club practices are reflected in our founding document. New initiatives have also been brought forward to streamline our finances. A flat season fee has been adopted and “NECC Loyalty Cards” have been introduced for food and beverage purchases on practice nights. I’m happy to report that the club continues to be in strong financial health.

I’d like to wish all our players a very successful 2010 cricket season. Go Burghs go!

Pankaj Shrichand
President, NECC

June 3rd, 2010