For a young Drumheller family, the game of cricket has become a passion, and they are sharing with the next generation.
Sasidharan Sivam has always had a love of cricket. In Ceylon (Sri Lanka) he grew up playing the game and even played on his school house team with hopes of pursuing the game at a higher level. In fact, a few of his schoolmates had gone on to play at the national level.
Unfortunately, an accident on the pitch dashed his dreams. He did, however, plan that if he had a child, he would pass on his knowledge and love for the sport.
While not as popular as many sports in North America, cricket has a long history being played first in Europe and then spreading to the British colonies. Today is popular in the Indian Subcontinent, Africa, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and the West Indies.
Cricket is a ball and bat game played by two different 11 member teams who play through two innings each, with each player the opportunity at-bat. The batting side scores runs by striking the ball, and the bowling and fielding side attempts to dismiss each batter by dislodging the bails, or by catching the hit ball before it hits the ground. Test Cricket, considered the purest form of the game, has matches that last five days. The modern game, however, has different match designs and duration.
Sasi says cricket is one of the most disciplined sports and emphasizes sportsmanship and fair play. Of course, like all sports, passion plays a role.
Sasi’s son Shamrudann has taken up a love for the sport. At one and a half, he had his first toy bat, and today he can name players who are stars going back over the generations. It is a common sight to see Sasi, his wife Harshini, and Sham at the field in Bankview working on Sham’s game. He has all of the equipment and Sasi pitches ball at him to work on his hitting and defense.
Sham also keeps busy learning about the game by watching it on YouTube. He watches new and old matches dating back generations as well as the modern game and skill training videos. His favourite players include Vivian Richards and Garfield Sobers from the West Indies, Virat Kohli, and Kapil Dev from India.
At seven years old, Sham is the age where he has the opportunity to begin to play competitively. Sasi says he has registered with the Calgary and District Cricket League, which has youth programs, however, because if COVID-19, they weren’t able to continue with the season. Sham is determined to make the team when the opportunity becomes available and is putting a solid effort into his training. President of Calgary and District Cricket League, S.Khan, continues to offer insights to improve his game, including working on defense, which means protecting the wicket.
While it might not be as popular as hockey or baseball, Sasi says there are leagues in Calgary and Edmonton and have development programs going right up to the national team.
Sham loves the sport and can recite the top players and record-breaking players from memory. He loves to watch all the international cricket teams and players from all over the world. In the meantime, he continues to learn and work on his game.
