Toronto wins ACF's inaugural North American Championship

Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club completed a three-match sweep of Midwest Cricket Conference to win the American Cricket Federation's inaugural North American Cricket Championship in Phoenix, Arizona on Sunday. TCSCC won the first 40-over match by five wickets on Friday after bowling out MCC for 110 and completed another five-wicket win chasing down MCC's 259 on Saturday. On Sunday, TCSCC posted a 75-run win to round off an undefeated championship weekend.

Raza-ur-Rehman, who was Canada's leading scorer at the recent ICC World Cup Qualifier in New Zealand, was the top-scorer for TCSCC, with 189 runs including an unbeaten 116 in his side's victory on Sunday. Former Canada players Rustam Bhatti, Arsalan Qadir and Shaheed Keshvani were also part of the winning team from Toronto.

MCC's leading scorer on the weekend was former USA U-19 captain Abhijit Joshi while former USA senior team players Ashhar Mehdi and Sohail Alvi also represented the MCC squad. Noticeably absent from the MCC team though was batsman Fahad Babar. An ACF press release in January had stated that Babar, who was the leading scorer and league MVP in the Chicago-area league this past year, was expected to play for MCC at the event.

Babar was part of USA's squad at the 2013 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in the UAE and had he chosen to play for MCC in Arizona, he may have run the risk of facing consequences from the USA Cricket Association for playing in what was not a USACA-sanctioned event.

Following the conclusion of the tournament, the ACF announced plans for its second North American Cricket Championship to be held at the same Nichols Park Basin turf wicket facility in Arizona again next year from March 6-8.