Canada rediscovers the love for its first national sport

WINNIPEG, Canada :Cricketers in Canada are taking desperate measures to play their booming sport in a country better known for ice hockey, baseball, basketball and American-style football.

At one time nearly forgotten, cricket has exploded in popularity as waves of immigrants have moved to Canada and want to play the once national game.

"We get a lot of complaints," said Manitoba Cricket Association President Paramjit Shahi about young people playing cricket in Winnipeg Walmart parking lots, where brightly lit asphalt offers day-working enthusiasts a chance to play. "They’re just neighbourhood kids."

Regina, Saskatchewan’s city government posts signs on tennis courts saying “Cricket is not allowed on courts” because batsmen were damaging them, it told Reuters. The small prairie city now has three dedicated cricket pitches.

From British Columbia on the Pacific coast to Newfoundland on the Atlantic to Yellowknife in the Arctic, the popularity of cricket has exploded as immigration from South Asia, Africa and the Caribbean has ignited a demand for ovals, night lights, winter training facilities and new teams.

Manitoba, a prairie province of fewer than 1.5 million people, now hosts 72 teams, compared to fewer than 20 eight years ago, according to Shahi.

"We don’t have enough grounds," said Shahi at a recent inter-provincial tournament south of Winnipeg being played on a windswept patch of prairie, with three new-roofed shelters opened by local politicians and cricket officials.

In Vancouver and Toronto, cricket has been flourishing outside the usual sporting infrastructure, but has also struggled to find adequate grounds and training facilities.

"The sport is thriving. Not too many people are aware,” said Imdad Alli, a Guyana-born