Cricket mania descended into the Okanagan over the Aug. 10 weekend as the North Okanagan Cricket Club (NOCC) hosted the first ever T-10 Okanagan tournament. 

T-10 is the shortest and most exciting format of cricket, as each team only has 10 overs to score as many runs as possible. An over consists of six balls thrown, meaning teams have 60 total balls to hit.

 "This is the first ever T-10 cricket tournament in this region,"  said NOCC president Sanjeewa Ranasinghe. "We hope to make this an annual encounter, promoting cricket at all levels."

The tournament, despite being hosted by the NOCC, was played out of Kelowna's Glenmore Park as Vernon has no dedicated cricket pitches within the city. 

Joining the NOCC were the Okanagan Lions, Vernon Strikers and Okanagan United.

The Lions were the victors, and were presented with the championship trophy by Vernon-Monashee MLA Harwinder Sandhu, who was the chief guest during the competition. 

The NOCC, has been competing in matches since 2020, despite the . Hashan Sirisena, who is a player on the team, is hoping that, as the "fastest growing sport in Canada," they can establish permanent grounds in the city.

"Cricket is a great community builder, promoting sportsmanship, and unity among different people and cultures," he said. "We are working with the city and MLA office so that the players do not have to keep travelling to Kelowna and other areas of the regions for practices and games."

Email the NOCC at if you are interested in playing.