I made a trip to Maple Leaf CC on Sunday afternoon (June 10, 2018) to see the current state of the grounds and to check on any current roadworks on the only bus route that serves the ground on a Sunday; the York Region number 88 bus. The bus having engine problems on the way to the ground was not part of my plans but the bus eventually failed to re-start at traffic lights (stop lights) when attempting to turn left from Bathurst Street into 15th Sideroad relatively close to the Maple Leaf Cricket Club grounds in the township of King City. The bus re-started, completed the turn reluctantly then came to a halt and it was soon time to walk the rest of the way to the ground with the sun shining.

The northwest ground, which has ODI status, seems to be in good shape, although I did not see play. Stumps were in place on the matting wicket; the natural turf wickets are to the east of the matting wicket (to the right when looking at the picture of the ground). The grass looked in good shape on the north-central ground, which is next to the ODI-status ground. Part of the north-central outfield area might, potentially, be used for temporary seating for a tournament such as the GT20 that is due to start on June 28, 2018. Temporary seating was added for the 2008 Canadian Thanksgiving Four Nations T20 that featured Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Canada.

Work on the drainage has taken place, although some work at the ground seems to be continuing based on the presence of a large vehicle parked near the centre of the extensive Maple Leaf grounds. Part of this vehicle can be seen in as the ball races off to the cover boundary during Sunday’s Toronto District Cricket Association (TDCA) Super Elite division game between Vikings and JB Masters.

I ended up staying longer than expected and added a picture of the pavilion as seen from 15th Sideroad when looking across the southeast ground when standing at the bus stop after the game. The bus had a healthy journey to Promenade Shopping Centre and Bus Terminal and on to Finch subway station in Toronto. Water main works along Bathurst Street had been projected to complete in the Fall of 2017 but some work and some lane closures are still in place from just south of Highway 407 to the Promenade terminal area.
Eddie Norfolk