By Jonty Ralphsmith
The Australian Cricket League is set to kick off on Sunday, with eight teams from around the globe set to descend on Casey Fields for the week-long festival of cricket.
The teams will be split into two groups, playing three T20s each with the top four to progress to the semi finals, before a 4pm Christmas Eve grand final.
Two games will be played on each day from 17-23 December, with the first game of the day at 12.30pm, followed by a bout at 4pm.
It is free to attend, with a family-friendly atmosphere to be augmented by off-field entertainment.
The tournament aims to bring different demographics together and celebrate the rich multicultural aspects of the community.
A series of Dandenong District Cricket Association (DDCA) players will be in action, including North Dandenong trio Imran Laghmani, Zarak Aseel (both Afghanistan Eagles) and Sushant Gapta (Sydney Mavericks).
Hallam Kalora Park star top-order bat Mahela Udawatte will come into the tournament for Lankan Lions with hot form behind him, scoring 230 runs at 77 so far this season.
Udawatte skippers a strong Lions squad, which also contains former Sri Lankan international and current Dandy West all-rounder Nuwan Kulasekara.
Lyndale spinner Surien Silva and Lynbrook’s Sahan Perera, who has played high level cricket in Tasmania but is yet to fire for the Lakers, are also in the Sri Lankan squad.
Lyndale wicketkeeper Satnam Singh will lineup for the Wolves while Girish Chopra, Lyndale’s leading run-scorer last season, is part of the Indian Tigers squad.
All of those players are part of 15-player squads, which, for the first time will be professionally coached.
This will be the third edition of the ACL tournament, with Sri Lanka defeating Pakistan last year, when now Cranbourne regular Harsaroup Singh caught the Eagles’ eyes.
The tournament will kick off with a match between Lankan Lions and Canadian Wolves, the latter making their debut this tournament.
Other teams in action throughout the tournament include: Afghanistan Eagles, Sydney Mavericks, Pakistan Sultans, Perth Phantoms, Indian Tigers and Sydney Kangaroos.
