LYNNFIELD — There’s a new sport in town.
While pickleball is said to be the fastest growing sport in the United States, another sport is quickly making a mark in Lynnfield and beyond.
The North Shore Cricket Club, the brainchild of Lynnfield residents Kailash Chintamani, Sanjay Aurora and Abhinav Gupta, marked its one-year anniversary with its league championship match on a balmy and breezy Sunday night at Lynnfield High School.
Excitement – along with plenty of “sixers” (cricket’s version of a home run in baseball) – was in the air as the Royals and Boston Youngsters battled to earn bragging rights as best-in-league. By the time the last ball had been bowled, the Youngsters prevailed, taking home the “rolling trophy,” a trophy it has the honor of possessing until a new champion is crowned next year.
“Today is a very special day for North Shore Cricket Club as it’s been quite an emotional journey that we started right here in Lynnfield,” Chintamani said before the match. “We started with just three board members and now we are celebrating our first anniversary with 125 players.”
The league has a full-year schedule. In addition to traditional outdoor seasons in the spring, summer and fall, the six-team league plays at Danvers Indoor Sports in the winter. Players hail from several area communities inducing Lynnfield, Lynn, Medford, Salem, Andover and others.
Vishal Gupta of Lynnfield was on hand to show his support for the league. He grew up in India where cricket is the most popular sport. He was thrilled when the league was formed.
“The closest place to play was Lexington, so seeing this league take form was great,” he said. “There is a lot of demand in this area and Lynnfield has such great facilities. The town has been so supportive. Kailash had the drive to set it up and the response has been phenomenal. It’s taken on a life of its own.”
Family, friends and fans lined the perimeter of the field. Among those spotted in the crowd were State Rep. Paul Tucker (D-Salem), who is running unopposed for Essex County District Attorney in Tuesday’s election, and State Rep. Sean Garbelley (D-Arlington). Both decided to take in the action after being invited by a mutual friend, Emran Baki, a co-founder and member of the Boston team.
“I’ve known Emran for a long time. I’ve had quite a bit of interaction with the Bangladesh community,” said Tucker. “It’s a very strong and vibrant community and when he told me about the cricket match I was intrigued as I’ve seen it on TV but had never been to a match in person so my wife and I decided to come and watch.
“Sean is an old friend of mine so I said, ‘let’s go, let’s see it in person.’ It’s a wonderful sport and very meaningful to the folks who are here. They are a very civic-minded group and are really trying to increase the sport. Some of the founders were telling me they want to talk to some local schools and universities and get more young people involved so that’s a great thing. It’s pretty amazing.”
Garbelley said he has had a close relationship with the Bangladesh community in his district and when Baki mentioned the match, he jumped at the chance to come.
“He invited me to come and learn more about cricket and it really is a sport that is internationally renowned from England to Pakistan to Bangladesh and it’s becoming more popular here in America,” Garbelley said. “It’s exciting to be here and see it flourishing in Massachusetts.”
John Wilson, Executive Vice President of sponsor World IT Center, Inc., said the club is the result of a collaborative effort with Gupta, Chintamani and Aurora taking the lead position in growing the game.
“What you have here is a bunch of professionals, a very select group of people who have come together to promote the game among youth,” he said. “The game is English born and bred that was taken to India and Southeast Asia and is now growing in the U.S. with the 2023 World Cup coming to Los Angeles. This club truly represents a nice gift to the community.”
Lynnfield Fields Director Joe Maney agreed.
“They are great guys. They’ve doubled the number of teams and players in just six months,” said Maney. “They follow the rules and are a pleasure. They just want to teach the game and we are lucky to have them.”
In the championship game, the Youngsters won convincingly, scoring 210 runs to the Royals’ 114. Noor Mohammed and Ahmed Habib led the Youngsters with 91 and 41 runs, respectively, while Niam Ahmed was the top bowler and took three wickets for 18 runs. Jay Patel paced the Royals with 24 runs, while bowler Raghavendran Mohan took three wickets for 48 runs.
The club began the day with a youth clinic at Lynnfield Middle School. About a dozen enthusiastic kids spent a couple of hours working with instructor Shafi Saiyed to hone their skills.
The founders say that a top priority for the club is growing the game and expanding opportunities for young people.
“North Shore Cricket Club strives to promote cricket with various youth programs for the community. We encourage parents, cricketers and the young ones to be a part of this volunteer effort to teach cricket. Our cricket camps are open to anyone who wants to learn more about the sport of cricket.”
