Bill Lees:<\/p>\n
EDMONTON – The bowler ran up to the wicket and sent a ball flying toward a batsman, who swung and missed the ball.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowzat,\u201d yelled the fielders.<\/p>\n
The umpire raised his index finger, indicating the batsman was to be dismissed because his leg had prevented the ball hitting the wicket.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt may be cold and snowing outside, but cricket is alive and well year-round in Edmonton,\u201d says Christie Marathalingam, head coach of the Alberta Schools Cricket Association or ASCA.<\/p>\n
It was Thursday night at the Saville Sports Centre Cricket Academy and 20 teenage boys \u2014 all but one of Indian or Pakistani descent \u2014 were enjoying a game of cricket after spending an hour going through catching and throwing drills.<\/p>\n
\u201c \u2018Howzat\u2019 is short form for \u2018How is that\u2019?\u2019\u201d says Marathalingam. \u201cIt\u2019s an appeal to dismiss a batsman that is heard in every country in the world where cricket is played.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe game, which dates back to the 13th century, is no longer only played in places where the Union Jack has flown. Countries from Bhutan to Bulgaria and from China to Cuba now play cricket.\u201d
\n<\/p>\n
Marathalingam, who played first-class cricket and was a bantamweight boxing champion in his native Sri Lanka, arrived in Canada to launch a janitorial company in 1985<\/p>\n
\u201cCricket develops athleticism, a sense of fair play and team spirit,\u201d he says. \u201cI have always been passionate about the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 1992, Marathalingam travelled to England to gain certification as a National Cricket Board Association of England coach and then returned for several years to take more senior courses.<\/p>\n
He managed and coached Edmonton and provincial age-group teams and founded and served as president of the Greenfields Cricket Club. But he always had one thing in mind. \u201cIf the game was to develop in Alberta, I knew it had to be enjoyed in schools,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
In 1995, he was instrumental in founding the Alberta Schools Cricket Association, which today has introduced more than 25,000 grade-school students to the game. And quite a few teachers.<\/p>\n
\u201cChristie\u2019s dedication has been impressive,\u201d says Sir Francis Price, a stalwart at the Edmonton Cricket Club for many years.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has taught and trained thousands of children cricketing skills. The skill levels range from young people learning to catch a ball to helping players on provincial and national teams.\u201d<\/p>\n
To spread his cricket ministries, Marathalingam relies on kanga ball, in which bats and a ball made of plastic are used rather than a willow bat and a hard, leather cased ball.<\/p>\n
Immigrants increase cricket popularity<\/p>\n
In recent years, interest in cricket has reached a new level with the influx of immigrants from such passionate cricket-playing countries as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, says Marathalingam.<\/p>\n
More immigrants are also coming from such cricket hot spots as England, the Caribbean, Australia and New Zealand.<\/p>\n
If you need proof of how many cricket fans there are around the world, it\u2019s worth noting last year the World Cricket Cup semifinal between Indian and Pakistan is reported to have been watched by about one billion people.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are definitely seeing more interest in the game here,\u201d says Marathalingam.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was hardly any interest in the game when I first arrived. Today, six high schools have cricket teams and the U of A will soon have a cricket team.\u201d<\/p>\n
After graduating, many students have gone on to play in one of the 25 teams fielded by Edmonton\u2019s 13 clubs, says the coach, who teaches as many as six classes and day and whose salary is funded by the ASCA.<\/p>\n
The sports store United Cycle is now bringing in top-notch equipment for players making use of two fields at Victoria Park, where in 2011, turf took over from concrete.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe improved surfaces are expected to attract national and international tournaments to the site,\u201d says Marathalingam.<\/p>\n
An artificial pitch was also laid at Coronation Park last year and two batting cages are going in this year.<\/p>\n
Castle Downs\u2019 cricket pitch will also be ready for the new season.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are also improving facilities at the Saville Centre to allow two games to be played at once and we\u2019re creating space for spectators,\u201dsays Marathalingam,\u201d who now heads a coaching staff of four.<\/p>\n
Some national aspirations<\/p>\n
Indian-born Miraj Patel, who has been playing cricket since he was five, has been selected for Canada\u2019s Under-15 team. \u201cMy dream is to play cricket for Canada a the senior level,\u201d he says. \u201cBut there are many players from Asian countries playing here. The standard is high.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adnan Pervez, 17, born here of Pakistani parents, says his doctor father played cricket in Karachi and encouraged him to play.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen our country is competing with another big cricket power, we stay up and watch games on television on weekends to often 3 a.m.,\u201d he says. \u201cSeven hours can fly by.\u201d<\/p>\n
Karachi-born Hassan Syed, 17, has played for Canada\u2019s Under-15 team and will probably study engineering at the U of A next year.<\/p>\n
\u201cCricket is my passion, but it\u2019s hard to make a career out of it here,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are some decent players. I\u2019d be happy playing for a club.\u201d<\/p>\n
St. Albert-born Mathew Ormandy, 16, saw a cricket game on TV and wanted to play. \u201cI\u2019m not worried about playing for Canada,\u201d he says. \u201cI just enjoy the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kapil Kirkire, 15, born in Gujarat, India, began watching cricket when he was three years old and hopes to make Canada\u2019s youth team. \u201cI feel my chances of being on the national squad are good,\u201d he says. \u201cIf I don\u2019t make it, I\u2019d like to become a computer scientist.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Bill Lees: EDMONTON – The bowler ran up to the wicket and sent a ball flying toward a batsman, who swung and missed the ball. \u201cHowzat,\u201d yelled the fielders. The umpire raised his index finger, indicating the batsman was to be dismissed because his leg had prevented the ball hitting the wicket. \u201cIt may be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2597"}],"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=2597"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2597\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}