Media Release

Bahrain, Aug 29: It is cricket, cricket and cricket all over and around again for the Konkani community of Sacred Heart Church parish cricket fanatics, young and old at the sprawling Indian Club Bahrain grounds on August 19 and 21 evening and all day on Friday, August 23, for the Monthi Festh 2024 Cricket Festival tournament. The heat and humidity of the August summer did not deter the cricket enthusiasts, players, participants and fans from giving it all they had in terms of cricket on the grounds. A spectacle beyond cricket boundaries!

The Monthi Festh Cricket Festival brought forth 16 men’s and 4 ladies’ teams on the arena for a spirited but competitive cricket festival that adorned the Indian Club Bahrain grounds with all its din and decorum and as always it was nothing short of a feast for every eye. The 16 men’s teams were pooled in four groups of 4 teams each in a group-cum-league knock-out matches.

Total 24 men’s league matches, with 4 quarterfinals, 2 semi-finals and concluded with the grand final held on August 23 between men’s Team Namma Kudla and Awali Konkans. All matches were played with the much cricket parphernelia and in the healthy spirit of the game with the expertise of the Konkani Community Cricket organizers, who are veterans in the game.

Here are the results in brief of the men’s tournament:

Team 'Namma Kudla' – Winners
Team 'Awali Konkans' – Runners
William Lobo – Player of the tournament - Monthi Fest Cricket 2024
Jaison Crasta – Best batter
Basilio Francisco – Best bowler
Vivinjith D’Souza – Best player of the finals match

For the first time around, the ladies’ tournament was organized by the core committee of organisers and they grouped 4 Ladies’ teams from within the Konkani community with some of the ladies’ on the cricket field for the first time ever – all with much enthusiasm and fun for the spectators to watch! The balls bowled were wider than imagined, no-balls delivered aplenty, dead-balls few, the bat missing the hit with the ball, catches goofed and dropped and fielders making a clumsy run to get the ball on the field, went a long way to add spice and glamour to the game of ladies’ cricket and all that was in store for the eyes of everyone to behold in a full day’s cricket match that went into late night concluding with the ladies’ finals between Team Titans and Team St Joseph Cricketers where the audience were spectators to some of spectacular piece of batting, bowling and fielding by the ladies.

Here are the results in brief of the Ladies’ Tournament:

Team 'Titans' – Winners
Team 'St Joseph Cricketers' – Runners
Melissa D’Sa – Best player of the tournament
Sweeta Corda – Best batter
Layolla Martis – Best bowler
Layolla Martis – Best player of the finals match

Winners were given trophies, cups and attractive prizes.

All well worth the day spent out in the open cricket arena, despite the hot sweaty weather and slippery grounds. Hats off to the Sacred Heart Catholic Church Konkani community for organizing yet again the Monthi Fest 2024 Cricket Festival under the patronage of The Indian Club.

The highlight of the Monthi Fest 2024 Cricket Festival on 23rd evening was an eventful special 'exhibition' cricket match organized by the core committee between the SHC clergy members captained by Fr Francis parish priest and the SHC core organising committee captained by Nelson Menezes. This was a field spectacle that had wickets falling like nine pins but certainly not to be missed and indeed a feast for the cricketing audience who were all out in cheer and screams, encouraging the clergy and the organizers, asking for more cricket!

The umpires for the tournament did their job with precision and the matches were played in all fairness the game deserved. The cricket commentators Thomas Fernandes, Freeda, Lloyd Cutinha, Arun Fernandes and Stany Fernandes rolled the event rhythmically with their running commentary throughout the matches to keep the spirit of the game alive and kicking with some good sense of humor for the players and spectators.

All credit in organizing the event goes to the core committee of Sacred Heart Catholic Church led by its convenor Nelson Menezes and team with the blessings of spiritual director of the Konkani Community SHC, Fr Darel Fernandes. Fr Francis, the parish priest of SHC was the chief guest of honor at the tournament and gave away the tournament trophies to the winners.

Roshan D’Souza Kateel, was the official photographer catching glimpses of action on and off the field during the Tournament.

The main sponsors of the event were Joy D’Souza and family and Ladies Wing.

The neutral Umpires for the tournament who did a wonderful job were Kamal Mohamed Sheikh and Ilyas Adam Sheikh, veterans in the game of cricket. They deserve a round of applause for their strenuous in umpiring amid the heat and humidity during the matches.

All in all, an awesome fun-filled eventful cricket tournament on and off the field at the Indian Club grounds for the Konkani Community as a part of the Monthi Fest 2024 celebrations at the Sacred Heart Church.