AMHERST, N.Y. — Western New York's newest cricket pitch opened earlier in August. Cricket is the second most watched sport in the world, right behind soccer.
Before this pitch, some cricket players used to travel about 45 minutes to be able to play. Now, the field is in their backyards, in a safe and easy location to get to. The field is called 'Maple East Cricket Ground' and it's located right beside the Maple East Elementary School in Amherst.
Sibu Nair is the executive director for the Council of Heritage and Arts of India, also referred to as CHAI. Nair and his team help bring this dream a reality to the players.
Nair worked with the Williamsville School District to find the right place for the field. He said there are different types of balls you can use to play cricket. In this new field, they are using a leather ball, which requires a lot more space than if you were to just use a tennis ball.
Nair travels often for work across New York State and sees what other communities are doing. He wanted to make sure that WNY cricket players also had the opportunity to promote and play the sport.
"I see there is a push from the cricket community that they want more recognition. They want more space. They want funding to promote this game. I feel that WNY is not up to speed. So, I just want to make sure our community has an opportunity to showcase the game to the local community here. So that's the main reason that we worked with the school and brought this ground here," Nair said.
This space is also used for other sports like soccer and lacrosse. Nair says because the clay pitch is removable, it is a win for everyone.
They are now working to build a shed to shelter the pitch once the players are done playing, instead of someone having to take it home every time they finish the game to store it. Organizers say they are also looking into starting up teams for women.