Since he moved from Pakistan to Sault Ste. Marie in 2016, Haroon Naseer has witnessed his favourite sport take off on Canadian soil.
“Cricket in the north is growing strong,” he says.
Celebrating their 10th anniversary season this summer, the Sault Ste. Marie Cricket Club has grown to 60 active members and expanded from one team to several since its inception.
Since 2013, the club chair explains that the internationally popular bat-and-ball sport has provided newcomers with the familiar atmosphere of home.
“Cricket is more than just a sport,” Naseer says. “It’s what keeps me connected and what made me want to stay in Sault Ste. Marie, and that’s the case for a lot of our players.”
“They come here as new immigrants, and the sport connects that community of people from all over like India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. All those countries play cricket – it’s huge back home for them, so when they come here, it’s something for us to do together.”
Carrying out practices and playing their matches at the Queen Elizabeth field each summer, the local club recently gathered its best players and spent the Canada Day weekend in Thunder Bay for a chance to hoist the Provincial Cup.
The Sault Stormers went undefeated and topped teams from Sudbury, Thunder Bay, and Winnipeg to earn the trophy on Sunday.
They even received special congratulations from Thunder Bay Mayor Ken Boshcoff and MP Marcus Powlowski following their victory, and Sault Mayor Matthew Shoemaker and MP Terry Sheehan congratulated the team on social media as well.
“I think our team combination is really good,” Naseer says. “We have a lot of young guns who come out and practice a lot. When I moved here, it was hard to make a cricket team. But now, so many people are joining. Their skillset is amazing.”
Naseer is hoping his team can carry that momentum back home when the Sault hosts the Northern Ontario Cricket League on July 22-23. The tournament will invite clubs and their families from Sudbury, Timmins, North Bay, and Thunder Bay.
“We want to promote tourism in Sault Ste. Marie,” Naseer says. “For northern communities here in Canada, it’s a great way to keep new immigrants in town as it’s growing so fast.”
Naseer admits that the fees to run the cricket club each year can be expensive, and he’d like to see local businesses and organizations get interested in the sport and provide sponsorship opportunities for their team and the events they host.
“Our club is mainly funded by our players, so we’re looking for community sponsors at our events,” he says. “Our summer league costs around $10,000 to run, and it’s very hard to come up with every year. But even with the little resources we have, we’re doing our best to make our name and our presence in the north.”
It’s good from a tourism aspect as well, he said. "We try to promote our city and invite these cities so they can not only play cricket and get involved but get the tourism part of it as well and show off how great the Sault is.”
The Sault Ste. Marie Cricket Club chair encourages anyone who may be interested in signing up or learning more about the sport to visit their website for information.
“It’s for everybody,” Naseer says. “We’re going to launch our student camps soon. With the help of sponsorship from the Kiwanis Club of Lakeshore, we’re buying equipment for young kids and will hopefully introduce the sport in schools so they can develop that interest early on.”