92 teams comprising farmers, field workers vie for top honours in Smruti Cup

It is not lush green sugarcane crop in the fields that is keeping farmer Atul Patel cheerful, but a cricket tournament that is going to be organised in his village soon. Atul is up early in the morning, is ready in his sports shoes and track pants, and heads to the ground to check the pitch preparation.

Atul is just doing his job earnestly – he is the president of Ena Cricket Club run by Ena Kelavani Samiti. Situated on the way to Bardoli from Surat, this South Gujarat village, made prosperous by NRI dollars, is to host the Smruti Cup-2008 in December.

And it won't be easy to win the trophy here. Cricket teams from 92 villages of Surat will compete for a cash prize of Rs 22,222 and a trophy.

The village has been hosting two cricket tournaments for 22 years — Smruti Cup in December and Paris Cup in April. The only difference between the two tournaments is that the 25-over Smruti Cup tournament is open only for the members of Charotar Leuva Patidar Samaj, says Diyesh Patel, who is present on the ground along with other club members to oversee the preparations.

The Paris Cup takes its name from the establishment of a prosperous donor Sunil Chhedha. Sunil has been the chief sponsor of the event for last 23 years.

It is a common practice among the young villagers of South Gujarat to try for a berth in one of the English Counties, if they do not make it to the Indian team. "We play cricket for the love of the game. Nobody from our club has ever played the Ranji, the state team, or for English Counties. Nobody even bothers for that. This is just for our entertainment,'' says Divyesh.

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