Roseville Builds Very
First Cricket Field in Placer County
By Zaki Syed
After
the formal inauguration (left), the first ball is bowled
(right) |
When
the South Asians migrated to America, they gave up many things
that were close to their heart - food, culture, and even cultural
sports. However, there is one thing that no S. Asian can give
up and that is: cricket.
On every street corner, alley, and park in South Asia you
can find a group of people playing the wonderful game of cricket.
Throughout India and Pakistan, for as long as anyone can remember,
people are overtaken with the “Cricket Fever”.
Well, the South Asians in Roseville, California, are no different,
and on June 2, 2007 they celebrated the inauguration of the
very first cricket field in Roseville.
The cricket field is located in Maidu Park, right next to
the soccer fields. To celebrate the new cricket field, the
Roseville cricket club held a ribbon cutting ceremony. Dan
Sahedo, the “Godfather of cricket” and president
of Sacramento Cricket Association and Davis Cricket Association
heartily remarked, “ It is great day, huge day, and
special day for US cricket.” Sahedo, who has been associated
with numerous cricket fields, said he was extremely proud
of the Roseville Cricket Club, which managed to get their
very own cricket field in the time span of just six months.
Zile Rehman, Roseville Cricket Club member and force behind
this project, speaking on the occasion said, “We were
having hurdles, trying to promote cricket in a small field.”
“It is a very limited area, and we had problems with
the setup.”
According to Rehman, the Roseville Cricket Club approached
the Roseville City Council and sought permission to build
a cricket field. Six months later, with the help and through
the sponsoring of Tri-Counties bank, the City of Roseville
and the Roseville Cricket Club had accomplished the task of
preparing the very first cricket field in Roseville.
Khalid Saeed, Financial Services Representative for Tri Counties
bank said, “ For the (South Asian) people cricket is
in our blood.” Saeed said Tri Counties bank sponsored
the event because they are a community bank, and they realize
that people in the community had a passion for cricket.
Mike Shellito, Assisant City Manager for the City of Roseville,
seemed to readily agree. “Our workforce and community
has become more diverse, so we needed to create a cricket
facility in order to respond to the needs the of the community.”
Shellito said that he attended the event to show that the
City of Roseville supports cricket.
John P, Vertido, Commission Chair for the City of Council,
cut the red ribbon to inaugurate the cricket field. “Cricket
is definitely a sport that everyone can play,” said
Vertido. After the ribbon cutting ceremony, the attendees
were served with refreshments such as pizza, sandwiches, and
Gatorade. Tents were set up as many cricket players had brought
along family members and friends to watch them play cricket.
The players then proceeded to play cricket for the rest of
the day!
On the cricket field something beautiful happened, as Pakistanis,
Indians, New Zealanders, and Caucasians and different races
played cricket together.
“Cricket helps in breaking racial barriers,” said
Sohedo. “It’s just that kind of sport.”
Asher Cohen, who is from New Zealand, said that he was able
to bond with the South Asians because they both shared a love
for cricket. According to Cohen, cricket is the national sport
in New Zealand. Cohen hopes that Americans too could embrace
the sport of cricket the way New Zealand and South Asians
have.
Twelve-year old Jacob Masters is one of those Americans who
already have started to embrace the sport of cricket. Masters
was presented with an award at the ceremony to represent the
“Youth of America in cricket”, and commended on
his fantastic performance during a cricket game. Masters was
suffering from a heat stroke and throwing up, but continued
to play as a fielder and refused to let any ball go past him.
An avid baseball player, Masters said the switchover from
baseball to cricket was smooth and easy. He feels that all
Americans should play cricket for one simple reason: it is
fun.
The Roseville Cricket team had a desire to play cricket, and
in order to fulfill their desire they got involved in the
community and the City Council. They made their dreams a reality.
If Pakistan Link readers get involved they too could realize
their dreams. Many community members believe that in order
to be an American they have to give up their culture. However,
America is about the incorporation of all types of different
religions and cultures rather than strictly conforming to
one. So practice your culture, eat the food you like, and
most of all, play the most popular sport (after soccer) on
the planet: cricket!
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