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Inaugural Memorial Match |
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Manitoba Cricketers Honours One of Their Own – September 26, 2004 The heavy rainfall during the week took it’s toll on the field. Although the sun has been shining for the last two days, at 10:00 am on Sunday the outfield was still under water, as you walked across the field you could see water splashing, and with each step all you could hear was the swishing sound of the water. Had this been a regular game it would have certainly been cancelled. However, this was no regular game, this game meant too much, too much to allow even Mother Nature to cancel. This was the inaugural Memorial Match in honor of our friend, teammate, and to many our inspiration. This match was in honor of Damian Lewis Mills. Damian was Manitoba’s cricket superstar who passed away far too early. On Saturday, the day before the big game, the cricket grounds were in no condition to be played on, all games were cancelled including a goodwill game between players from Minneapolis, Regina and Winnipeg. The condition of grounds threatened Sundays play. But Sunday’s game meant too much and those present could not sit by and allow the profuse amount of water take the game away from them. They started to remove the water from the field the old fashion way, with buckets, snow shovels, ingenuity, sweat and tears. After 6 hours of backbreaking work and over 1000 pails of water removed the ground was still very wet, but it was getting better. Those who removed the water included seven players who were to play in the match and Dr. Barry Mills, Damian’s dad. On Sunday morning you could see the effects of the prior day’s efforts, there was little less water and there were several stiff backs. When all the players and spectators gathered the amount of water was dangerously unsafe but no one even considered not playing. Instead, they waited a while longer for the sun to take it’s toll and the game started an hour later, 11:30am, than originally scheduled and was reduced to a 35 over match. Despite the water, at the start of play everything seemed right. The sun was bright and hot trying vigorously to dry up the water, the surrounding trees were beautiful with their leaves boasting the autumn colours of brown, orange, yellow and red, the grass was lush and the greenest it’s been all summer. There was a special feeling in the air. The day turned out to be a gorgeous day for cricket and brought out a large crowd for this first Damian Mills Memorial Cricket Match. The WJCC Honorary XI, made up of WJCC alumni and current players, took on the MCA League XI which was comprised of many of the MCA's top players who played with and against Damian. After a moment of silence, WJCC took the field and Damian's father, Dr. Barry Mills, opened the game by bowling the first ball, he was then also asked to bat the next ball, after all it is with the bat that Damian was most proficient. After that the game was on. On with the match, MCA Honorary XI won the toss and elected to bat first. The opening partnership of the aggressive Tariq Mian and steady Darshana Muthumuni put up a solid 43 run opening stand before David Hakes took a brilliant catch off the bat of Muthumuni at deep mid-wicket, slipping in the wet grass as he caught the ball and managing to hold on when he hit the ground. Former WJCC all-rounder Andrew Amsden was credited with the wicket. Soon after, another former WJCC star, Keith Denoaraine took a sharply hit catch above his head at backward point. It was great to see the old WJCC boys on the field together and to see them do what they do best. Garvin Budhoo (25) and Manjit Sra (21) put up solid scores but were unable to really get going thanks to the great bowling of Ihsan Khan, who took 3 wickets in 5 overs while giving up only 12 runs. MCA Honorary XI finished with a competitive 145 from their allotted 35 overs. The WJCC's innings, where Joseph Lovelace and Tommy Jilani opened the batting for the 4th game in a row this season. However, it was Upal Herath who would have the upper hand, taking the wickets of the top 3 batsmen, Jilani the only one managing to score some runs (24). It was Deonaraine who would stabilize the innings, picking up quick singles with the other fast WJCC batsmen, and hitting some absolutely effortless sixes at opportune times. However as Deonaraine stayed, wickets at the other end fell. It would come down to number 8 batsman and skipper Ron Dipchand, who after playing league bowling trophy runner-up Richard Toorie cautiously, peppered him for a couple of boundaries before getting caught off of the same bowler. At this point, WJCC only need 1 run to win, and Deonaraine fittingly hit the winning boundary, also marking his 50 for the match. The exciting victory came with only 2.1 overs to spare. Although there was no official man of the match awarded, it was Deonaraine who finished with 53*, 2 wickets and 1 catch. Overall, the day went off as a huge success, with an exciting match on a beautiful day, great food provided by Ivory Restaurant and several of the players families, and lots of money raised for the Damian Mills Junior Cricket Trust Fund. It was a day fitting to the memory of our beloved Damian. At the end of the match the only winner was cricket, there was no loser. Damian loved this game that we play, we play it week in and week out, but while we play there is something happening that is even bigger than the game itself. We build relationships, friendships and respect. With Damian’s passing we cannot help but take inventory of what this game means to us. We must ensure the survival and growth of this game.
Scorecard:
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