Need for cricket pitch in Malvern area grows with sport's popularity.
A group of teens played cricket on a baseball diamond, as part of a four-week cricket tournament being held at the Malvern Community Centre. The community is hoping an outdoor cricket pitch can be built in the neighbourhood in the near future.
Staff photo/BRAD PRITCHARD
While most baseball diamonds across the city continue to remain dormant during the last days of winter, one prematurely de-thawed March 7, when a group of cricket players took to the field.
About two-dozen young men shrugged off the fact that the mucky field behind the Malvern Community Centre remained littered with clumps of snow and ice.
They also weren't hindered by playing on the gravel diamond, which they easily jerry-rigged into a cricket pitch.
And with the temperature just barely hovering above zero, perhaps it wasn't the most ideal day to play an outdoor game of cricket. But that's OK, because these players were kept warm by their passion for the game.
Team captain Ahmad Saleem, 18, shares that passion.
The university student says he often has to travel out of town just to play the game he loves, sometimes as far north as King City. Obviously he would prefer to play closer to home, and would like to see a proper outdoor cricket pitch built in the Malvern community.
"The sport is definitely growing here," he said. "Every year I see more and more kids playing."
This mind-set is shared with hundreds of other community members, especially those of South Asian and Afro-Caribbean descent living in the Malvern area, said Thiva Paramsothy, who is the project co-ordinator with Action for Neighbourhood Change (ANC).
Launched in 2005 by the United Way, ANC was initially a two-year project that assessed how neighbourhoods could be revitalized and improved through local solutions, using local resources.
Malvern, along with a dozen other Toronto neighbourhoods were selected for this mission, and even though the project officially ended in 2007, neighbourhoods are continuing to explore ways to better their communities.
Paramsothy says one of the things the Malvern community identified was the growing passion its members had for cricket, so an initiative was formed to help create an outdoor cricket pitch.
"We asked ourselves how we could really reflect this community," he said, adding that cricket is the national sport in the country of origin for several community members.
Over the past four weeks, a cricket tournament has been held at the Malvern Rec Centre, and Paramsothy says the great turnout only proves how passionate the people of Malvern are about bringing a pitch to the neighbourhood.
"The short-term goal of this initiative is the recreational component," he said. "But ultimately we want to engage newcomers, families and kids with this program. It's a relatively inexpensive sport, and it's easy to learn how to play."
Paramsothy said he has also noticed a significant amount of females showing interest in the sport, like 27-year-old Jaqruti Joshi, who feels a void in her life since moving to Canada from India back in September.
"When I came here, I couldn't find anywhere to play," she said, adding that she would love to have more opportunities to play cricket in her neighbourhood.
Scarborough-Rouge River Councillor Raymond Cho says he would like to see a cricket pitch brought to the Malvern community.
"There's no doubt the need is high," he said, adding that the proper steps must be taken to do so.
He said he's hesitant to convert an existing green space or baseball diamond into a pitch.
"There needs to be an accurate assessment," he said, adding that money will be an issue and that he doesn't want to take away space used by other recreational groups.
Cho recently voted against the creation of a pitch in a hydro field in Northern Etobicoke, reasoning that "the cost wasn't manageable."
For that project, the city will spend $600,000 for the first phase of construction, with another $350,000 earmarked to connect water fountains and toilets to the sewer system.
Paramsothy says the cost of building the pitch is important, but added very little would have to be done to convert an existing space, and that any money spent on the project would be a worthwhile investment.
"Having a cricket pitch could really serve as a catalyst for more positive attention," he said. "This is a chance for more young people to be involved in the community."
Saleem couldn't agree more.
"It's not the price we should focus on, but the passion."