Canadians are known for their love of hockey, but an old sport’s popularity is on the rise: cricket.
Cricket is ranked as one of the most popular sports in the world. It has a huge following especially from fans in India, Pakistan, the Caribbean, Australia, and the UK.
Originating in England, cricket is played by two teams of 11. When the first team is called up to bat and after hitting the ball with the bat and protecting the wickets, tries to run to the other end of the pitch (called a ‘run’). The other team bowls the pitch and tries to catch the ball and tries to stop scores and the batsmen. The team with the most runs wins.
There are many national and world leagues, as well as women’s leagues. The most well-known league is the ICC World Cricket League.
There was once a time when cricket had a much more significant popularity in North America and was arguably the continent’s most popular sport. However, after the civil war, most Americans turned their interest towards baseball.
Universities like Harvard are now embracing this born-again sport. In 2009, five American teams, including Boston University, took part in a championship competition, and there are now over 70 different cricket clubs competing nationwide.
It seems that the sport is more popular to first- and second-generation immigrants, who are already familiar with the sport through cultural ties. However, more and more students who are new to cricket culture are joining in on the sport.
In New York, cricket is an official high school sport, and it seems that cricket fever is moving north of the border.
U of T has caught onto the cricket trend and has an intramural men’s cricket team that plays during the winter months, as well as the University of Toronto Association of Student Cricketers (UTASC).
There are also many other places to go if you ever want to pick up cricket outside of campus. There are over 10 Toronto cricket clubs for people of all ages and skill levels, such as the Toronto Cricket Club or the Toronto and District Cricket Association.
