Nearly a dozen teams are competing at an all-day cricket tournament in Nanaimo on Saturday. (NAMA)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

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One-day Nanaimo tournament promising high-offence ‘blast cricket’

Jul 5, 2025 | 7:51 AM

NANAIMO — Big hitting, lots of colour, music and fun are expected from a one-day cricket tournament.

The newly-formed Nanaimo Malayalee Association, in partnership with a sports club from Victoria, are hosting the first Harbour Cup at Beban Park on Saturday, July 5 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Association spokesperson Joseph Vezhaparambil said nearly a dozen teams from across Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland and Interior of B.C. are competing in a rapid-paced format of the game, where each team gets just 30 balls (five overs) to hit.

“Since it’s a five over game, we will be expecting a kind of blast cricket and you will see…the full [offensive] potential of each team.”

Each game is scheduled to last around 30 minutes, with the final featuring a slightly longer game Saturday evening.

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Food and other off-field activities are also planned, with the entire event free and open to the public.

Vezhaparambil said the association itself was formed last year after growth in the Malayalee community in Nanaimo and across Vancouver Island.

“This organization is basically a south Indian community living on the Island, predominantly speaking Malayalam – that’s a language we speak in a province called Kerala in southern India.”

Saturday’s tournament is the group’s first foray into sporting events and larger community gatherings, but it’s something they’re hopeful to expand on in the future.

A synthetic grass-covered concrete cricket pitch was installed at Beban Park last summer, primarily for use by the local team and their league play in the Victoria District Cricket Association.

It made its debut in mid-June.

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