By Tyler Loutan
\nEDMONTON \u2014 After a full year of renovation, the west end Victoria Cricket Grounds are now the only cricket grounds in western Canada to have a natural turf pitch as per the international standards of professional cricket. Pitch renovations were completed in time to host the Edmonton and District Cricket League (EDCL) final.
\n\u201cTo build the pitch, I used the same blueprints for the Lord\u2019s Cricket Grounds in England,\u201d said Ken Rohoman, the contractor who renovated the Victoria Cricket Grounds. The Lord\u2019s Cricket Grounds is one of the major cricket venues where England\u2019s professional cricket team plays.
\nThe Victoria Cricket Grounds has been under renovation since the last part of the 2010 season. The pitch was under construction to remove the older crushed brick surface and upgraded to a natural turf pitch. The resurfacing of the pitch came with a few obstacles that delayed the renovation.
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\n\u201cThere were problems with the outfield around the pitch,\u201d Rohoman said. \u201cThe outfield was built up higher than the pitch, which made a kind of bowl where water would pool, which flooded the pitch when it rained. The outfield had to be landscaped until it was somewhat level with the pitch.\u201d
\nCricket grounds consist of an outfield made of grass and the pitch (infield) that is designed to create a hard surface. Before the renovation, the three cricket grounds in Edmonton were made of crushed brick, covered with fabric matting.
\n\u201cI think having a real turf pitch is going to help make better cricketers in Edmonton,\u201d Rohoman said. \u201cHaving a pitch that\u2019s up to code with professional cricket gives the players a chance to get the real feel of playing top-level cricket.\u201d
\nThe two finalists, Rising Stars and Millwoods Cricket Club, battled for the EDCL premier division championship at the grounds on Sept. 18.
\nJacob Ramkelawan, a standout local cricketer who was selected to Canada\u2019s National team, was happy to have the Victoria Cricket Grounds back in full action. \u201cVictoria has an atmosphere that you don\u2019t get on the other grounds,\u201d Ramkelawan said. \u201cIt\u2019s one of the nicest grounds in Canada. It\u2019s in a great location and it\u2019s always good to be here, whether you\u2019re playing or watching.\u201d
\nIn the championship match at the Victoria Cricket Grounds, a rematch from last year, Rising Stars defeated Millwoods Cricket Club to become the 2011 Champions in Edmonton\u2019s top division. Millwoods Cricket Club did its best to defend its score of 133 runs, but Rising Stars prevailed with only seven overs remaining. This is Rising Stars\u2019 second straight championship in the premier division.
\nThe Victoria Cricket Grounds will be ready for match use all next season, which is expected to begin in early May.
\nLoutanT@mymail.macewan.ca<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Tyler Loutan EDMONTON \u2014 After a full year of renovation, the west end Victoria Cricket Grounds are now the only cricket grounds in western Canada to have a natural turf pitch as per the international standards of professional cricket. Pitch renovations were completed in time to host the Edmonton and District Cricket League (EDCL) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2361"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2361"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2361\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2362,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2361\/revisions\/2362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}