Earlier this year some residents of Greenburgh asked the Town Board to recognize the desire of Greenburgh residents to have a cricket field. The Town Board worked with the newly formed cricket committee, located a park (Richard Presser Park on Central Ave in Hartsdale), curated a customized cricket pitch. The cricket field is now open and cricket enthusiasts have started to enjoy the sport on Sunday mornings in Hartsdale.

   Greenburgh, to my knowledge, is one of the first communities in Westchester to recognize the importance of cricket. I am sharing the enthusiastic response we have received with other municipal officials –hoping that other communities in Westchester will consider creating their own cricket fields.  This is a very exciting initiative.  Those interested in practicing at the field should contact the Greenburgh parks department.

PAUL FEINER

Cricket in Westchester:  ---A MESSAGE FROM OUR CRICKET COMMITTEE

Cricket is the second most followed sport in the world after soccer.  Regions like Asia, Africa, UK, Caribbean Islands, Australia and New Zealand have a large fan following for the sport. In the US, baseball may be thought of as an American sport with a long and illustrious history, however cricket predates it.  Cricket was being played on this land before it became the United States, and historical records as early as 1737 have chronicled its existence. Even though baseball has eclipsed cricket in popularity, there are over 600 dedicated cricket playing fields in the US.

On January 9, 2019, several cricket enthusiasts residing in and around the Town of Greenburgh, NY gathered together with one voice under one roof to engage the town officials in a spirited discussion. Their intention was to grow awareness for the sport in the county through the development of designated cricket facilities. During the first meeting, Mr. Paul Feiner, Supervisor of the Town of Greenburgh, and other elected officers, were very supportive of our interest and guided the group on next steps to-

•             Hold educational sessions regarding the sport of Cricket with the town board and community members.

•             Actively be involved in the town’s parks and recreations advisory board.

•             Develop and articulate clear and realistic short-term and long-term objectives.

•             Organize around a single body as the voice of the cricket community in Westchester and work with local officials in developing a roadmap to execute the vision.

We have been very fortunate to have the assistance of Gerard Byrne – Commissioner of Parks & Recreations (Town of Greenburgh) among others. They have supported our long term vision and also accomodated our short term goal of repurposing existing fields in the town to play cricket, by curating a customized 22 yard X 10 feet cricket pitch either on concrete, grass or turf.

In May 2019, after three months of searching and reviewing various fields in Westchester, we were informed that Richard Presser Park in the Town of Hartsdale would be the site where the first official cricket pitch would be laid. In the next several weeks we saw first hand the talent and professionalism of our town officials who took our requirements to create a cricket pitch that is the real deal! On July 6, the new pitch had its first event. On that auspicious day over 100 cricket enthusiasts from the community dropped by to witness history and play some cricket!

Representatives of various Westchester cricket teams have come together to create “22yardsport”, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the sport of cricket in Westchester and surrounding communities. They will be the voice of cricket enthusiasts in working with local officials for the development of dedicated cricket facilities.

While our journey has only started we are excited to see what the future will bring!