Newcomers claim flag

Nickol Hawks Cricket Club were last week finally able to celebrate a successful first season in which they finished top of the ladder and took out the championship, winning five out of eight matches.

The team, sponsors and their families celebrated their achievement on Friday.

Despite the season being cut short due to COVID-19, club president Ali Syed said it was a huge achievement.

“We finished top of the ladder and then there was some talk about the resumption of the season but then there was an announcement from the WPCA president calling the finals off and as per our by-laws because we finished top of the ladder we were declared as the winners,” he said.

“It’s a new club and a great achievement for the first season played to have won it.

“We put in a lot of effort to have a united team all throughout the year, not just during the season.”

Club manager Junaid Khan said the players put in a lot of hard work to reach this result.

“Looking at where we were and starting last year at this time, not many people would have thought that we would get a chance to put in a seventh team in the comp and then we end up being the champion,” he said.

“It says a lot about the character of our guys and the hard work they put in. It doesn’t come easy.”

Khan thanked the sponsors for their support and said he was looking forward to expanding the club.