By Todd McEwan
Five hundred signatures are hard to gain, but even harder to ignore. Or at least that’s what Barrie’s cricket enthusiasts are hoping as they head to council Monday night.
The foreign bat-and-ball game has yet to break through with mainstream audiences in Canada, let alone Barrie. But being one of the fastest growing cities in the province requires the local leaders to pay more attention to the wants and needs of their residents. And currently 500 of them would like to see less empty baseball diamonds, and at least one proper cricket ground.
Arjun Batra, president of Canadian Secondary School, has organized the petition and will be leading the march to city council on May 9. After gaining 500 signatures in two days for “Barrie needs a cricket ground”, and a collection of support letters from MP Patrick Brown, Liberal candidate Colin Wilson and other local supporters, Batra feels confident that the city will finally acknowledge the growing cricket community.
“It’s the world’s second most popular sport,” he said. “And the city can’t be blamed for (not having cricket fields) but the demographics have been changing in the last six and seven years.”
Cricket has been enjoyed within the walls of Georgian College for a number of years, but only students have been welcome to join. And without an outside location, Batra said it’s difficult to have the popular overseas sport, take off in Canada.
“Canada has a team for the world cup, and they didn’t do very well,” he said. “And one of the reasons is that the sport really isn’t encouraged right now, and I know it’s a small start, but we can create a difference in the city.”
Parking lots and open fields have sufficed for the 160 members of the Barrie Cricket Club, but the city intervening and declining their needs for a specified area has taken its toll. The city has felt that providing a cricket field lacks potential in attracting residents unfamiliar with the sport, but with a number of supporters ready to face council on Monday, Batra expects to sway council’s mind.
“There are people that want to play cricket,” he said. “It’s not just about people that have been playing the sport, it’s more about the residents of Barrie being introduced to a new one.”
Former Students Administrative Council Vice President of Athletics and cricket equipment manager at Georgian College, Georgy Jeril Chako, is one of the many supporters that Batra has rallied. Chako said after spending four years at Georgian with the cricket team, he’s noticed a significant rise in the number of students getting involved.
“When I came to Georgian, we had a cricket team, but we had nine players,” he said. “Right now any time we have a practice, we’re looking at 25 players on a Monday night. Even with exams the next morning, they still take the time to be dedicated to the sport.”
Georgian has been one of the driving forces behind the growing cricket community in Barrie. International students that arrive from countries where the sport is regularly practiced have been the reason for Georgian’s exceptional talent. Earlier this year, Georgian College won Humber College Cricket Cup 2011, became finalists in Sheridan College Cricket extramural tournament, and they beat the Southern Ontario Cricket Association (SOCA).
Recently, Eastview Secondary School also picked up cricket and hosted an intramural tournament with more than 80 students having participated. It’s been the sudden interest that led Batra to council. And despite the low numbers in comparison to Barrie’s beloved hockey or baseball, Chako can’t understand why council wouldn’t allow permission for one field to be built.
“If they don’t say yes, we’ll keep fighting for it,” he said. “(Barrie has) approximately 75 baseball fields, why can’t we have one cricket field?”
The Barrie Cricket Club welcomes all supporters to join them at 7 p.m. on May 9 at Barrie City Hall.