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London welcomes the CIMA Toronto Mayor's Cricket Team

London welcomed The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) Toronto Mayor’s cricket team again this week as it played in, what has become, an annual one week tour as part of the Cricket Across the Pond (CAP) scholarship programme.

CAP is a programme organised and managed by CIMA Canada. In partnership with Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation, Tom’s Place, the British Consulate General in Toronto and the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, CAP uses cricket to motivate young people from Toronto’s diverse neighbourhoods and reward students for their positive work as role models in their community. The programme aims to help develop social cohesion and interaction among young people as well as using cricket as a vehicle to enhance self-esteem and increased motivation skills.

While in London the team visited City Hall and met Deputy Mayor of London, Lady Victoria Borwick as well as playing the London Mayor’s XI.

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said “I am delighted that we shall once again be welcoming the Toronto Mayor’s XI to London. Cricket it such a wonderful sport and so closely woven into the fabric of London Life. It gives me such great pleasure to see it spreading beyond its traditional heartlands into countries such as Canada and I shall continue to follow the development of the game there with interest.”

The CIMA Toronto Mayor’s team was officially welcomed to London by the Mayor of Kingston upon Thames, Councillor Penny Shelton Heathcoat, on 22 July at a reception held for the young cricketers.

Chessington Cricket Club in Surrey hosted the team during their tour, which began on 18 July, and has seen them play against some of Surrey’s leading clubs including Guildford, Mitcham, Reigate Priory, Sunbury, Beddington and Long Ditton Cricket Clubs.

While on the tour the group have also enjoyed a tour of the ‘home of cricket’, Lords Cricket Ground as well as the famous Oval Cricket Ground as a guest of Surrey County Cricket Club.

Gulzari Babber, immediate past-President of CIMA, and a big supporter of the initiative, said: “It is a pleasure to be able to organise such a worthwhile event, bringing these young people from Toronto over to the UK. The tour always provides a fantastic opportunity for these young cricketers to showcase their talent and act as role models and ambassadors for their community. The fact that the tour is in its sixth consecutive year is, yet again, a testament to CIMA’s willingness and ability to contribute to personal as well as professional development.”

For further details about the CAP scholarship programme and its initiatives, please visit www.cimacanada.org/catp.jsp

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by CIMA UK Regional News .