SCYCA Youth Cricket Players Shine at Labor Day Tournament

Hundreds of youth cricketers competed in the Southern California Youth Cricket Academy's Labor Day tournament from Aug. 31 - Sept. 2, 2024 in Orange County, CA. The competition featured players from all over California, including five SCYCA teams. The cricket tournament was a hit across the board, with U11, U13, and U15 SCYCA athletes putting up strong performances.

Tournament Highlights

U11 Series Labor Day 2024

In the U11 Series, the 127 participating athletes on 10 teams proved that they're already talented cricketers. Across 15 total matches, they cumulatively scored 3,021 runs, hit 210 4s, and knocked eight 6s into the Southern California sky. Meanwhile, bowlers showed off with 53 maiden overs and 229 wickets taken overall.

U11 Overall Winners

Every team played well and put up a good fight, but Dashrath Sankhe Cricket Academy (DSCA) emerged as the U11 Series Winners. They took on the California Cricket Academy Kings (CCA) in the final match at Cypress Community Park in Irvine, CA. DSCA needed 8 runs in the last over to beat CCA's score of 99. Although CCA snagged a run-out wicket, DSCA reached the target of 100 on the last ball and won by 4 wickets.

SCYCA U11 Youth Cricket Teams

SCYCA's U11 squads performed well against some tough opponents. This was the first-ever match for many of the younger players and they were able to experience it right on their home grounds. Standout performances include the U11 SCYCA Blue team captain, Rishaan Agwekar, scoring 40 runs off 54 balls against San Ramon Cricket Association Youth (SRCA), and Aradhanaa Rajasekaran taking 5 wickets across the weekend. On the SCYCA Red squad, all-rounder Jeddiah Malar led the way in both batting and bowling on his team, and snagged 3 wickets.

U13 Series Labor Day 2024

SCYCA U13 Youth Cricket Teams

The Southern California Youth Cricket Academy contingent really excelled in the U13 Series. SCYCA Blue won two of their matches and finished in 3rd place in the finals. They also had some of the tournament's best individual performances.

This includes Aarav Arora making the U13 Series' highest score of 85 runs (not out), which he put up in SCYCA Blue's 63-run win against California Cricket Academy (CCA). Aarav also led the U13 Series Overall Batting Leaderboard with 150 runs, which included 21 4s.

Meanwhile, SCYCA Blue all-rounder Aryan Arora had the series' Best Bowling Figures thanks to his 22/5 performance in a closely fought match against DSCA. Veeraj Johal also had great stats, with 6 wickets taken throughout the tournament and an impressive 3.25 bowling economy.

Three SCYCA Blue youth cricketers placed in the Top 10 U13 Player Rankings - more than any other team. The SCYCA Red side also featured standout performances, including captain Pavan Maharaj scoring 29 runs off 41 balls against SCVCA, and hitting three 4s along the way. Four SCYCA Red bowlers also nabbed three wickets each over the weekend.

U13 Overall Winners

Just like the U11 Final, the U13 Series Final was a nail-biter - this time between Woodley Youth Cricket Academy (WYCA) and Dashrath Sankhe Cricket Academy (DSCA). WYCA needed 14 runs off 6 balls to chase down the 121-run target set by DSCA. They fought hard, scoring runs on every ball, including 2 runs on the final ball. However, DSCA emerged victorious, fending off one last run from WYCA to keep them to 119.

Overall, the 15 matches of the U13 Series were action-packed, with 10 teams and 128 cricketers participating. The players knocked it out of the park with a collective 3,053 runs, including ten 6s and a whopping 268 4s. Fielders made a perfect 100 catches altogether, while the bowlers put up 47 maiden overs and took 209 wickets.

U15 Series Labor Day 2024

In the U15 Series, the SCYCA team fought hard and placed as the runner-up behind VK Cricket Academy team. VKCA won three matches and took one loss at the hands of the SCYCA squad to top the points table. The U15 series featured 40 players who collectively tallied 1,263 runs off of 1,340 balls, and kept the scorecards ticking with 121 4s and 19 6s.

SCYCA U15 Youth Cricket Team

SCYCA's Anuj Dhingra bowled at a notable 3.62 economy over his 4 matches and nabbed 5 wickets in the process. He and fellow teammate Adithya Anand each bowled a maiden over, with Anand also taking 6 total wickets. In their win against VKCA, Syed Haadi Hassan took an impressive 4 wickets in 2 overs while only giving up 2 runs.

Dhruv Keshav Taritla led the U15 SCYCA batter rankings with a nice 120.83 score rate over 72 balls faced, and notched 12 4s into the scorecard. Keeping pace right with him was Taran Wadhera, who scored two 25s and 82 runs off 126 balls.

Youth Cricket Tournament Support

SCYCA Volunteers

The SCYCA Labor Day Youth Cricket Tournament was a success thanks to the dedication of its volunteers. Special kudos go to SCYCA Head Coach Pri De Silva, who is the main sponsor of the Labor Day Youth Cricket Tournament. His generous donations of time and funding are the foundation of the annual tournament.

The hard work of Ashish Arora, SCYCA Tournament Committee Chairman, was also integral to the tournament's success across the 36 matches. Sreekanth Amineni, SCYCA CFO and Treasurer, was tireless in his work coordinating and facilitating the three-day event featuring more than 20 cricket teams.

Thanks to Ashok Kumar Ramu, SCYCA Infrastructure Chairman, for his steadfast efforts in working with the cities to secure the four cricket grounds. And SCYCA President, Shantha Suraweera, has been the guiding light behind SCYCA's mission to develop cricket since 2014, including the annual Labor Day Tournament.

Awards Ceremony

The tournament concluded with an awards presentation after the final match at Cypress Community Park - a professionally built cricket pitch for youth players. Players took home some fantastic hardware, gift certificates, gear, and words of wisdom thanks to the contributions of the event's sponsors and speakers.

The presentation ceremonies featured the Mayor of the City of Cerritos, Naresh Solanki, along with Hema Thakor, who played first-class cricket in India. Also in attendance was Louie LeMonnier, the principal of Hope School. Hope School is a special place dedicated to serving students with special needs. Mr. LeMonnier and his staff have been exceptional in supporting SCYCA and providing permits for cricket activities at Hope School. SCYCA is hoping this facility could be developed as a proper cricket training facility.

Payal Sawhney, the CEO of SAAHAS, was also present to show support of youth cricket and the SCYCA program. SAAHAS is a non-profit organization founded in 2019 and dedicated to supporting immigrants establish a new life in the USA. SCYCA has joined hands with SAAHAS to spread awareness about the connection between physical and emotional well-being through cricket.

Finally, Beulah Pidakala, founder of SoCal Women's Cricket Association, presented a set of batting pads and gloves to the U11 Emerging Talent winner - SCYCA player, Aradhanaa Rajasekaran. SCWCA was formed to create opportunities for girls and women to play cricket.

Thank You!

SCYCA would like to reiterate its thanks to its Gold Sponsors: Clearinghouse CDFI, Play Store, and Cricket MegaMart; its Silver Sponsors: IDR, SSL & Akay Financial Services, and Anita Advani Insurance Services; and its Bronze Sponsors: Sheffa Aggarwal Realtor & Notary and RT Kitchen.

We'd also like to thank the event volunteers, umpires, participants, speakers, and community supporters for making the 2024 Labor Day Youth Cricket Tournament a success. Your contributions make youth cricket happen! We'll see you all again next year!