Demand for cricket pitches on the upswing in Saskatoon

Cricket is becoming so popular in Saskatoon, the city is developing a new pitch in the PierreRadisson park.

"We've got a fairly large field area, mostly designed more for the youth," saidCary Humphrey, the director of recreation and sport for the city. He saidcrews are mowing the grass to a certain depth.

"We've also done some overdressing and overseeding to rejuvenate the grass growth and they'll start using that for their youth program" he said.

People play in parks and spaces across the city. But the official pitch used by the Saskatoon Cricket Association is the one at the Forestry Farm.

The president of the association,Iftekhar Kalyar, said he is seeing exponential growth in the popularity of cricket across the province.

"In 2010 we only had four teams, three in Regina and onein Saskatoon. Now we have 27 teams in Saskatchewan."

These teams play in one league and frequently travel to other cities for matches.

Kalyar credits recentimmigration especiallyfrom Southeast Asia, includingSri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indiaand his home country,Pakistan.

"When they comehere they're still passionate about cricket," Kalyar said.

According to Kalyar, the west side pitch will see more development this summer and fall. He said he expects the adultleague teams to playmatches there bynext spring.