Houston’s cricket boom aims to follow in soccer’s footsteps

HOUSTON, June 27 : World Cup fever has gripped Houston but across the city the unmistakable sound of leather ball on willow bat can be heard as baseball mounds give way to cricket pitches and the gentleman's game begins to take hold in Texas.

The growth of the sport in Houston is driven by communities from traditional cricket-playing nations, immigrants and their sons and daughters from India, England, West Indies, Australia and South Africa.

But there is a real hope the game can spread into the city’s diverse communities where it has not yet taken hold, and against the backdrop of the World Cup, soccer provides the blueprint.

Surya Saladi started what is today the Triggers Cricket Consortium (TCC) in 2004, and it has been a driving force behind growing the game in Harris County and beyond.

Initially a club for adults, 12 years ago Saladi created youth teams and has seen a big swing in popularity for the sport.

"We started with 30 kids but now have over 1,000 players between the ages of seven and 17 playing youth cricket in Houston," he told Reuters.

"We have adult teams that compete in the Houston Cricket League, our own tapedball league with around 45 youth teams and we also run high-performance courses for youth cricketers."

Tapedball is a modified form of cricket played with a tennis ball wrapped in tape, creating a smooth, heavier ball that can be used on any surface.

TCC has access to 35 cricket grounds in the Houston area, a mixture between traditional grass wickets and astroturf. But Saladi believes there is potential to do a lot more.

"Cricket is a foreign sport in this country and getting the community backing is very important," he said. "Slowly we are building an eco-system where cricket will be an affordable