Cricket at U of T took a giant step towards official “varsity sport” status with the success of the first-ever outdoor tournament organized by St. George campus. The Ontario Universities Cricket Cup 2004 was held on Sunday, September 26 at Ashtonbee fields in Scarborough.

Four teams, one from Guelph and UTSC respectively, and two from St. George competed to lift the trophy and become champions of Ontario universities. A total of four games were played before a final match decided the overall winner. It is unusual to finish five cricket matches in one day, but on Sunday it happened.

Mapa Sports and Iqbal Foods lent their names as primary sponsors for the day’s action. Also, Professor Tim Wilkinson of the Civil Engineering department offered his services as a professional umpire for the day.

The tournament started with an epic encounter between the highly-rated UTSC and St. George B. Batting first, UTSC scored 124 in its allotted 15 overs thanks to invaluable contributions from skipper Aisam Baig, Gavin and Trevin. Chasing a daunting target, St. George B needed 5 on the last ball of the second last over; Saad Ullah Khan of St. George B hit it for six runs, allowed them to secure a win.

St. George A easily overcame the Minnows from Guelph at Ground #1.

However, other encounters failed to be as engrossing as the first game. UTSC and St. George B emerged as winners in the third and fourth match of the tournament, brushing aside Guelph and St. George A respectively.

Not much changed in the following two games after lunch, as UTSC and St. George B further stamped their supremacy upon the other two competitors with easy victories over St. George A and Guelph.

St. George A and Guelph were shown the door as St George B and UTSC prepared to battle it out in the all-important final.

The shortened-final turned out to be a highly one-sided affair with UTSC tightening the noose on St. George B from the very first over. Batting first, St. George B scored 73 off its allotted nine overs, which seemed to be a very defendable total as the sun started to set. However, UTSC once again reminded everyone of their dominance in the outdoor version of the game, as they chased the target in a mere 5.2 overs. The skipper Aisam Baig once again returned to haunt the St. George B bowlers with a whirlwind 52 off 20 balls.

Needless to say, Aisam Baig bagged “the man of the final” award while the MVP and the Best Batsman awards went to Gavin of UTSC for his outstanding overall performance. The Best Bowler award went to Aneesh of St. George B.