Cricket’s popularity continues to climb with a very first introduction to the sport on Aug. 6 during the 2023 Terrace Riverboat Days festival.
Basic rules and strategies were taught for the world’s second-most popular sport. More than a learning opportunity, it underscored the Terrace Cricket Club’s effort to build a proper cricket pitch.
Terrace Riverboat Society Board President Kam Siemens spoke enthusiastically about the session, emphasizing that it attracted quite a crowd.
“We introduced them to the rules of the game and then divided the people that were there into two teams and we played it out,” Siemens said. The game turned out to be an unexpected spectacle, with teams divided by gender and featuring a gentleman from the United States, whose varsity baseball skills translated into an impressive cricket debut.
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“He was knocking it out of the park and we were like, ‘Are you sure you haven’t played cricket before?’ and he goes, ‘No, but I played varsity baseball’ and it all started making sense,” Siemens explained.
The event also attracted a visitor from Haida Gwaii who expressed interest in expanding the sport to Haida Gwaii and shared stories of cricket being introduced to children at Terrace’s Skeena Middle School.
Cricket in Terrace dates back to the early 1980s when South African doctors brought the sport to the community, Siemens said. However, it has never had a designated area.
“It was really great to showcase that to the community,” Siemens said.
She also highlighted how the event opened her eyes to Terrace’s reputation as an up-and-coming area for outdoor and sports enthusiasts, as she spoke with a visitor from Squamish.
Viktor Elias joined the Terrace Standard in April 2023.
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