Multicultural Cup boasts 12 diverse teams from the NT

More than 200 players have taken to the pitch since the start of the month, all taking part in this years Top End Multicultural Cup. Read more about the tournament.

Boasting 12 teams from Darwin and its surrounds, the 2023 iteration of the Top End Multicultural Cup has hit sixes on and off the pitch.

Teams made up of communities from Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Australia, the sides have been playing out a round-robin-tournament since the beginning of the month.

The off season tournament is a chance for those cricket lovers to come together with members of their community, adorned their team colours and represent their region in a competitive tournament.

“All the players are Darwin-based, who play in the dry season among the varying leagues,” tournament organiser Udara Weerasinghe said.

“The purpose is to give these cultural communities an opportunity to come together and represent their culture through cricket.

“For so many of them it is their number one sport and makes up so much of their lives.

“The tournament is also a great way for these players to be educated on the cricketing culture and landscape in Australia, as it is quite different from what most are used to back home.”

Kings XI played NCANT during the second weekend of competition, Saturday, October, 12. Picture: Darcy Jennings.

Head of Cricket Academy NT, Weerasinghe is hoping to continue the competitions growth, stating the importance to help cater for, educate and teach those at a grassroots level imperative for the game’s growth.

“We want to keep the tournament going for as long as we can,” the former first class player said.

“My goal is to have this end up as one of the premier annual competitions in the NT.

“We have already grown to over 200 players this year and we are up to 12 teams.

“There is definitely a lot of room for growth so long as finding and the community are behind us.”

The tournament will wrap up this weekend after the final pool games are played on Saturday, 21 October and finals on Sunday.