A sticky wicket: Edmontonians want to play cricket, but the space just isn’t there

While temperatures are dropping and snow has begun to fall, the largest cricket league in Edmonton is already looking ahead to the spring and wondering how it will accommodate a large influx of players.

The sport of cricket is taking off, but field space is in short supply, according to the president of the Edmonton & District Cricket League.

Gurdeep Klair told CBC’s Radio Active the club has about seven playing spaces, including two home base locations in Victoria Park and Mill Woods, for its 1,500 adult and senior players.

The rest, however, are private rentals.

Hardik Patel, vice president of the league, said game times can become limited if more teams join the league.

In 2015, the club used to play upwards of 15 games per team, but the limited space means games have to be capped at 12 per team. 

“When you max out on those grounds, eventually, you’ll have to minimize the total games they play,” he said.

Patel said the league has seen growing popularity every year as people from various cricketing backgrounds move to the city.

The club’s doing fine now, but he said they will eventually need dedicated facilities and infrastructure like clubhouses and equipment storage.

City officials are working with the club to secure more playing space, but doing so can be a challenge, according to Ward Karhiio Coun. Keren Tang, who says the sport is a big deal in her ward.

It’s something that needs to be prioritized, she said, but there are no plans for a facility.

“Whenever we do talk about recreation, it doesn’t matter what it is, I know myself or my colleague, councillor Joanne Wright, also representing the deep south east here, will always pipe up and ask ‘what about cricket?” said Tang.

“Cricket fields are fairly substantial; they’re fairly large, so it’s not like you can just find something and it will work — you need a substantial size for it.”

Klair said the city will be providing the league with one additional cricket pitch for next season, but it still means being overcapacity due to the club’s number of players and teams.

Still, he said there is overall satisfaction with the city’s efforts.

“They are, at least, trying and they are working hard, and they are always there to listen to us,” he said.

A priority right now, Klair said, is finding more practice space for the winter before the snow flies. They use a facility made available by the Kinsmen Club of Edmonton in the interim.

It’s important to support the growing community, he said, because it builds community among players and spectators.

“Cricket is like a second religion,” he said.

“So when [newcomers] come to any city, they want to join a cricket league … and we want to make sure we are there for them.”