Cricket match part of Princess Ka'iulani Festival

The Maui News
October 13, 2009

By BRAD SHERMAN, Sports Editor

Uday Kari wants Maui to know cricket isn't the game many might initially imagine.

He hopes that multiple events coming up this weekend help send that message.

Kari and the rest of the Maui Cricket Club will face the Honolulu Cricket Club on Sunday at Baldwin Beach Park as part of the Princess Ka'iulani Festival. The day before, members of both clubs will conduct a demonstration for youths at Haleakala Waldorf School's Waxman Field.

"Every time we have a match like this or we have a major event, we earn ourselves one or two really quality players," Kari said.

Sunday's match, scheduled for 10 a.m.-5 p.m., will have a good-natured sprit, and a few players might compete for the opposite club, but something will be at stake, too.

"We want to give them a good fight," Kari said. "We all want to play for Maui, and there's a little bit of pride involved.

"We may mix the teams up, but not very much. It's going to be mostly Maui playing mostly Oahu."

The winner will receive the Princess Ka'iulani Cup, presented by state Sen. J. Kalani English.

One aim for both the match and the youth event is to increase interest in cricket.

Saturday's demonstration is scheduled for 11 a.m. An arm-wrestling competition is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.

"It's all about promoting the game," said Mark Berwick, president of the Honolulu Cricket Club, which bills itself on its Web site as "the oldest sporting club in the Pacific Islands," established in 1893.

Honolulu club members will take part in Saturday's event.

Kari said many of the Maui club's members are expatriates from countries where cricket is more popular, and he hopes to generate enthusiasm among Mauians who may be unfamiliar with the sport.

"We're trying to create interest at the local level," he said.

Original article URL: http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/524714.html

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