REVELSTOKE CRICKET REVIVAL

The Revelstoke Cricket Club Is Bowling Toward A New Future

By Jill Macdonald.

The Revelstoke Cricket Club is officially on its way to resurrecting our city’s participation in league cricket. The club recently received its 'Certificate of Incorporation' from the BC Registry, marking it as an officially recognized sports club in Revelstoke and B.C. Next steps include overcoming the challenges of where to play, a challenge also experienced by pickle ball groups. It appears that participation in community-minded team sports is on the rise.

Club co-director Matt Bramall attributes renewed interest in the sport to new arrivals in our city. “Without question the resurgence is due to the influx of immigration from commonwealth countries. Pre-WWII, cricket was one of the most popular sports in Canada. There were teams all across the Okanagan, from Revelstoke, Salmon Arm, Vernon, Kelowna and Kamloops.” Currently, however, only two viable pitches still exist where an actual match can be played and those are in Kamloops and Kelowna.

Cricket is colourful, varied and at its core a community-driven game that provides entertainment and social cohesion. Says Bramall, who is from the UK, “Culture plays a huge part in the game, the beauty of that being it is incredibly diverse, taking on different forms depending on where you are from and the type of cricket played. For example, the three directors (of our club) are from India, New Zealand and England. So, it's done a little differently in each place.”

The game is played between two teams of eleven and two umpires. One team goes to bat first, with two batters in at any given time, until everyone is out. The team batting first tries to put in as many runs as possible. Similar to baseball, the fielding tries to prevent runs from being scored. For equipment, the two batsmen each require a helmet, padded gloves and leg guards (or pads), a box (protection for vital parts), plus a bat. The team that fields will have 9 in the field, one bowler and one wicket keeper. The bowler uses as 5½ ounce leather ball to bowl (hence all the pads) and the keeper will wear leg guards, webbed gloves and a helmet. A bowler bowls 6 balls in a row. This is called an over. At the end of an over, a new bowler steps in.

As far as matches go, cricket has evolved from its purist traditions to embrace weekend matches and the casual style of play suited to today’s culture. A test match is the traditional format and takes five days to complete. Test matches are mostly played at the international level. One day international matches set a limit of 50 overs per side in order to meet the time deadline. t20 is the format used for most community matches. This version is a twenty overs a side game, with some variations.

In 2008, t20 cricket was franchised by professional teams, most notably the Indian Premier League, which in 2017 had a viewership of 400 million. That’s for just one competition that lasts under two months.

The challenge for cricket participants in Revelstoke is not finding new members. It is finding an appropriate playing facility with a 22-yard strip, either curated or artificial, in the centre of a circular field. Speaking for the club, Bramall says, “Last summer, we took a team from Revelstoke down to Kelowna and played the first match in 84 years and from that we were very eager to find out how we could get a pitch ourselves. Because we don't have a pitch we can't enter a league, host friendlies or promote the sports locally as we would want to and we want that to change.”

The club is focused on building its finances and looking to establish partnerships that can support their long-term visions of building a pitch. The establishment of a facility raises the public profile of the sport, increasing interest. It also allows them to host other teams from the Okanagan/Shuswap region, expanding the profile of cricket in Revelstoke.

Quoting organizer Prajeesh Shammy: “We started playing cricket in Revelstoke in 2016 with fewer than five players, and now the community has more than 25 players who wish to play here. Additionally, many children and adults have approached us to learn the game and receive training from us. All that we are asking to our city is a designated play ground. Cricket is more than a game for us, it’s a passion that runs through our veins. There is nothing more exhilarating than stepping onto the field, feeling the sun on our backs, and hearing the sound of leather hitting willow. We love playing cricket and it’s a joy that we can’t imagine living without.”

Revelstoke Cricket Club is registered as a non-profit organization. Currently they have 17 members and Bramall, Shammy and Daniel Doughty as codirectors. To obtain annual insurance and resource support, they need to apply for membership with BC Cricket, the provincial association body. Following that, the next step is to engage with the City of Revelstoke about available space and the opportunity to develop a pitch.

Therein lies the sticky wicket. Room to play a sport that lay dormant for almost 90 years. Times have changed and they are changing again. The infusion of new residents broadens our horizons in many ways. It presents an opportunity to evaluate existing land uses and respond to the need for new ideas and enthusiastic groups. Bramall speaks for all the members when he says, “We will do the work and raise the funds. We just need the space.”

Summer is approaching. The team is getting in playing shape. They confirmed their participation in a match Sunday, June 18, in Kelowna. Supporters are most welcome.

As Doughty says, “It is exciting to see cricket coming back into Revelstoke and quickly growing in the BC interior. Cricket is a popular game within other commonwealth countries, and with Revelstoke being a popular destination for those coming for a working holiday, it’s nice to be able to provide a bit of familiarity for them to get involved in a sport they already know with like minded people. It also allows local Canadians to learn a new sport and try something they might not have previously had the chance to do.”