I have tried a lot of different sports as my extracurricular activities since when I was young but I have never tried cricket and I have all the more reason to take part in this tournament. I along with a few of my friends decided to make a team of 8 and we took part in this tournament. It was more of a friendly match because none of us actually practiced cricket regularly. 

LO1: Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth

For me playing cricket was easy even though I have never played it before because of my sports background. I have been into many different sports since my childhood which made it very simple and facile for me to adapt to this new sport. But on the flip side, mostly all the different sports that I have played and competed in have been individual sports. In simpler words, from these individual sports I have developed a habit of taking it all upon myself meaning the victory, the losses, the pressure, etc. So I feel that I have a disadvantage when it comes to cooperating with a team where every individual is different from one another and has his/her own set of advantages and disadvantages for the sport. 

LO5: Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively

Cricket is a team sport, in which there are different jobs for every player in the team. Such as bowling,batting and wicket keeping. Some of my teammates might be better in one aspect than another. You can definitely win a match with the talent and skills but when it comes to team sports it requires one more thing which is teamwork. For me to compete in a team sport was a little bit complicated as I had to coordinate with my fellow teammates, I had to work according to the strategies we made and I had to look out for everyone in my team and not only for myself. Certainly when playing a team sport the pressure is divided amongst all of us but you have to keep your game up so don’t let your teammates down. I wouldn’t say it is impossible for me to work with a group of people but it’s definitely exigent and tough for to match your ideas with the people you are playing with. 

This taught me the importance of collaboration and cooperation. It made me recognize that in life/in the future I will have a lot of times where I will have to work with a group of people be it in personal or professional. It taught me the importance of proper communication and how it is necessary for you to share your ideas with the group in order to get things into working out your way. 

All in all I enjoyed being a part of this tournament. The match was not just fun it was a learning for me, it made me realize the importance of teamwork. This learning is something I will hold onto for the rest of my life.