A new pitch is coming to Eden Prairie

It’s not a variation of the curveball or the change-up, nor is it a version of what a salesperson would say to try to get you to buy something.

It’s a cricket pitch. That’s the term for the playing field on which the game, originating in England centuries ago, is played.

This will delight Nick Pocock, the godfather of cricket, at least in Eden Prairie.

Pocock is an Englishman who resides in Eden Prairie and works as an airline pilot for Delta, currently flying the Airbus 320. He also heads efforts to bring the game of cricket to Eden Prairie. So far, his efforts are slowly paying off.

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“We are seeing a steady growth of the game here, especially among kids, which is the most important age group for the sake of the sport,” he said.

On June 13, the Eden Prairie Community Cricket Night was held at Nesbitt Preserve Park. The Minnesota Royals and Strykers Cricket Clubs, along with MVP Cricket Academy and Minnesota Youth Cricket Academy, demonstrated a short-format version of the game and offered Cricket 101 lessons for newcomers. Nesbitt Preserve Park already has a cricket pitch.

Pocock said much of the current growth, at least among kids, comes from native-born youth who are the children of parents who emigrated to the U.S. from countries where the game is immensely popular, such as India, Pakistan, and the West Indies.

The new pitch is proposed for Flying Cloud Fields, according to Amy Markle, Eden Prairie’s parks and recreation director.

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It will be a portable pitch and could be in place by late summer.

Cricket pitches do not require a lot of sophisticated or complex accessories.

A pitch is a large circle, and in the middle of that circle is a strip 22 yards long with three wickets at each end. The wickets are like stumps, and the batter must protect them from being hit by the ball, which is thrown (or bowled, in cricket terms).

The pitch is a flat area with short grass. There are 11 players on each side, and the team not batting strategically places its 11 players around the pitch.

Pocock said the game is gaining popularity throughout Minnesota.

“This is good,” Pocock said. He learned the game as a young boy back in his native England.