Troy Area Cricket​ Players Will Finally Get A Proper Field

TROY, MI — Cricket players in the Troy area will finally have a proper field to play their beloved sport.

The proposed field will be at Raintree Park, on John R Road just south of Wattles Road in Troy.

There are dozens of cricket clubs and leagues for youth and adults that play regularly throughout the metro Detroit area, but they are forced to use fields that are not designed for cricket.

"Cricket is a huge part of the culture all over the world. In a lot of countries, it’s bigger than soccer," Troy resident, Sadek Rahman, who managed a local team said. "When many South Asians started settling in Troy about 20 years ago, the lack of a cricket field made it hard for us to share this part of our culture with our children. Now this will no longer be an obstacle."

Although city officials have been supportive over the years to build a proper cricket field, funding was an issue.

State Rep. Sharon MacDonell, D-Troy, helped secure $900,000 in Michigan's record-breaking $82 billion budget for the new field.

"We have many recreation facilities in Troy and Oakland County, but despite years of requests from our residents we have not been able to fund a real cricket pitch in our community," MacDonell said. "I know how important cricket is to our large and vibrant South Asian community, so I’m thrilled to help make this dream a reality."

Along with MacDonell’s efforts at the state level, Councilwoman Ann Erickson Gault has been pushing for the funding at the city level for years.

"I am thrilled that the cricketers of Troy will soon have a regulation field to play matches here thanks to the advocacy of Rep. MacDonell," Gault said.

Vinodh Mudaliar, a Troy resident and president of the Michigan Youth Cricket Academy and longtime advocate for cricket field funding, was excited about the funding.

"This couldn’t be possible without the strong support by Rep MacDonell and Councilwoman Erickson Gault," Mudaliar said. "I applaud them for continuing to advocate for the growing cricket community filled by youth and adults and bringing this long-term effort to the finish line. The new field will make it much easier to hold our matches and championships and share our culture with new generations of kids."

Cricket is similar to baseball, but is played on a round field that is bigger than football and soccer fields. In addition, a cricket field is flat with very short grass, and players use a flat stick that looks like a canoe paddle to hit a ball. Also nobody uses a mitt to catch the ball.