The rapid growth of cricket in Manitoba

The Maples

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/05/2024 (471 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

May 11 was the first day of play for the Manitoba Cricket Association’s 2024 cricket leagues. Most people would be surprised to know that cricket is the second—most popular sport in the world – behind only soccer.

Cricket is one of fastest growing sports in Manitoba and around the globe. According to the International Cricket Council, organized men’s cricket is played in 108 countries and women’s cricket is played in 61.

Cricket participation among adults and kids is also soaring in Manitoba. On April 20, final day of the Maples Community Centre’s indoor cricket program for players aged eight to 14 was celebrated at Maples Community Centre. These coaching sessions run every Saturday from November to April at the Amber Trails School gymnasium.

After the final session, an awards ceremony was held at the school, led by Kamta Roy Singh, senior coach and primary sponsor of the program. Award medallions were presented to 51 young cricketers. Among the guests who brought greetings were Tony Kreml, superintendent of Seven Oaks School Division, city councillor Devi Sharma (Old Kildonan), MLAs Diljeet Brar (Burrows) and Mintu Sandhu (The Maples) and me, in my role as a SOSD school trustee. RBC volunteers helped to organize and serve refreshments.

“I love cricket. I have been playing cricket since I was a kid and I played for Manitoba several times,” Singh said. “It’s a pleasure to work with fellow volunteer coaches. Over the past 25 years we have seen dozens of youth who went on to represent Manitoba and Canada in cricket tournaments”.

In 2008, only 21 cricket teams were registered in Manitoba. With the advent of social media, streaming and pay-for view TV services, dozens of test matches and professional league games are available in every household. Accordingly, the Manitoba Cricket Association has grown by over 30 per cent. This year, the Manitoba men’s adult league registered 75 teams. There could be even more, but there is a shortage of cricket pitches in Winnipeg, Brandon Gimli and Winkler.

“My vision is to continue to grow the beautiful game of cricket in Manitoba. I am confident and super-positive, since several additional cricket fields are in the planning stages,” said Manitoba Cricket Association president Paramjit Shahi. “The needs are obvious; every day, in many school grounds and public green spaces pick-up cricket games are happening”

The popular Indian Premier League (IPL) is most popular league in the world, attracting over 600 million viewers worldwide for each game. The finals are on May 26.

On June 1, the much-anticipated T20 Cricket World Cup begins, hosted, for the first time, by the United States and four Caribbean countries. Canada will be among the participants but India, Australia and England are the pre-tournament favourites.