First New Youth Cricket Pitch To Be Built In Columbia

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — The county's first designated youth cricket pitch will be built at Lake Elkhorn Middle School in Columbia. Howard County Executive Calvin Ball broke ground on the project site Friday. The county entered into an agreement with the Howard County Board of Education last summer to construct and maintain the new cricket pitch.

“Cricket’s popularity has boomed over the past several years in Howard County and this new pitch is foundational for the growth of our youth cricket league,” Ball said. “We have some of the best sports fields and engagement in our state and we look forward to expanding Howard County’s national reputation as the place to play cricket.”

The pitch at Lake Elkhorn Middle School will be the sixth cricket pitch in Howard County, helping to meet the growing demand for fields and facilities to accommodate cricket in the county. Howard County Recreation & Parks operates youth and adult leagues with teams that utilize the two cricket pitches at Schooley Mill Park and the pitch at Murray Hill Middle School.

“This new pitch is the first in the county to be designated for youth,” Raul Delerme, director of Howard County Recreation and Parks, said. “It also will allow players and teams the opportunity to practice eight months of the year, including summer months and on evenings and weekends.”

Howard County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Michael J. Martirano said the new pitch will be great for current young cricket participants, but also for families and youngsters learning to play the game.

Falgun Patel, president of Howard County’s Youth Cricket League, said the league started with a handful of kids and now is a leader in terms of number of grounds and players participating.

"Due to the infrastructure provided in the county, we were able to host the National Youth Cricket competition in 2021, where close to 110 teams from all over the USA participated," he said.

In addition to building the new pitch, the county will improve and maintain the four existing baseball diamonds on the shared fields for Lake Elkhorn Middle and Cradlerock Elementary.

To sign up for a HCRP cricket program, visit https://www.hcrpsports.org/adultcricket or https://www.hcrpsports.org/youthcricket.

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