To Infinity and beyond

Held annually from January through to March, the tournament saw 29 teams from across Melbourne compete in the action-packed competition, making it the largest ‘open’ T20 event in the city.

Players from various ethnic and cultural backgrounds participated in the event with matches being spread across two venues in South Yarra and Reservoir.

The tournament had a total of 68 matches comprised of group and knock-out stages.

The Xpress Money GCC Rebels and the Mahindra Boys advanced to the Grand Final held at the Junction Oval.

In a thrilling contest, the GCC Rebels defeated The Boys by six wickets with just five balls to spare.

Since its inception in 2011, the tournament has significantly grown.

Tournament founder and organiser Navneet Ganesh noted the event enabled people from all nationalities to compete in a fun and entertaining competition.

“When you have people from Japanese, Lebanese or Chinese backgrounds playing – you know that we are in a truly multicultural state and we want to embrace that,” Ganesh said.

“Some teams had international students from India and Sri Lanka mixing with locals which highlighted that sport can bridge cultural differences.”

The competition also featured some UK-based umpires and scorers, Brazilian models and newly migrated Kiwis playing for a team called ‘Kangaroos’.  

“When we started, this was just a concept that bore out of a dream to connect people through cricket,” Ganesh said.

“In our tournament, players have the flexibility of playing with their mates, club or work colleagues in a fun, competitive carnival style atmosphere.”