A public cricket field opened in Detroit on Saturday for the first time since the 1970s.
Cricket player Saiyed Ahmed is one of the people who helped make the new pitch a reality. To keep up with cricket’s rising popularity in Detroit, he pushed for the city to build a professional, public field.
“Slowly, Detroit residents, officials, everybody started getting used to the game,” Ahmed said. "And since that, now we’ve got a cricket field in Detroit.”
Ahmed started playing cricket in Detroit around 2004 — just about a year after he moved to the area from Bangladesh.
Back in 2004, Ahmed says only about eight people played the game in Banglatown, a neighborhood located on the border of Hamtramck and Detroit. Now, there are around 16 teams with 11-15 players each in this area alone.
Listen above to hear Ahmed explain why this pitch is a “big win for the community.” And for those Americans unfamiliar with the British pastime, he also explains how the game of cricket works.
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