KOCHI: Years after its formation in 1982 in erstwhile Calicut, the Easthill Cricket Club dominated tournaments thanks to its members, all crazy cricket enthusiasts.
As time went by, they left one by one. Then, the demise of one of the members, Ranjith, three years ago, brought them back together. Immediately, they went to work to revive the glory of their beloved club and reignite the passion for cricket in Kozhikode.
“The passing away of our dear friend brought us old club members back together. We started the ‘Ranji Memorial All-India Invitation Cricket Tournament’ in his memory,” said club president Anoop C R, a former cricketer.
The tournament for the U-16 category was launched in 2023 and has eight prominent teams from the state, three of them from Kozhikode, competing for the trophy. The tournaments are conducted in association with Falcons Cricket Academy, another age-old cricket academy in Kozhikode.
“Earlier, when we all played, regular league matches used to take place. There were tournaments where a lot of players, even Ranji Trophy cricketers, from outside the state used to play. After the 90s, the interest declined. So we have united and are now trying to revive that interest,” says Anoop. “The children today have great infrastructure, equipment, and are quality players themselves. The aim is to nurture the passion,” he said.
In this year’s tournament that took place from January 6 to 11, Prathiba Cricket Club from Pala defeated Athreya Cricket Club from Thrissur in the finals held at NIT Ground, Kozhikode.