The Prince Albert Panthers celebrate their Saskatchewan Cricket League T20 Division 2 victory after defeating the Saskatoon Flames in the finals earlier this week. (Prince Albert Cricket Association/Facebook)

By Logan Lehmann

First time winners

‘A long time coming’: P.A. Panthers claim city’s first cricket provincial championship

Aug 10, 2024 | 5:30 PM

For the first time in Prince Albert cricket history, a local club has claimed gold at the provincial level.

Earlier this week, the Prince Albert Panthers were crowned winners after defeating the Saskatoon Flames in the Saskatchewan Cricket League T20 Division 2 finals.

Prince Albert Cricket Association (PACA) President Mohib Mohammed said that this championship was years in the making.

“Every year, we were falling just a little bit short but this year, we finally made it,” he said.

The final tournament of the year featured 11 teams from around the province, including two from Prince Albert with the other being the Jaguars. The Jags managed to capture fifth after what was their first season in existence.

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With either team placing in the top five, Mohammed believes the result will help the sport continue to grow and thrive in Prince Albert.

“This is going to do wonders with such high competition. We got so much love and support from the community and even from Saskatoon and Regina when they heard about us winning the cup.”

He added that the Association has already seen rapid growth within the last year, and they are hoping to double the number of P.A. based teams in Div. 2 next season.

“It just keeps growing.”

“Next year, we are looking at four teams registering into the league,” he continued. “One is called the Kingsmen, they played in a different division this year and they will be joining the same division as [the Panthers and Jaguars] next year. The new team that’s [debuting] next year is the Prince Albert Giants, they’re registered and everything and they’re looking to grow the game as much as the other teams.”

The PACA is now getting ready to begin another season, but this time they won’t need to travel as much.

The league will be based in Prince Albert and features four teams that are made up of players from the city and surrounding area. The season gets underway on Sunday and will wrap up on Sept. 22.

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loganc.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com