5 | durhamregion.com | This Week | Thursday, July 14, 2022 | Family Owned And Operated Since 1953Family Owned And Operated Since 1953 733 KINGSTON RD. E. AJAX MON-WED/SAT: 9AM-6pM, THURS/FRI: 9AM-7pM SUN AND HOlIDAyS: 10AM-5pM WHIlE QUANTITIES lAST @macmillanorchards1953 IT'S HERE!!!! FRESH LOCAL SWEET CORN!! Also...Fresh Local Blueberries, Raspberries, Strawberries And More "This community is becoming more diverse," said Clarington regional councillor Granville Anderson. "We want to make this a welcoming place for all different cultures." In the past year, residents have appeared before local councils asking for proper cricket fields. This summer, those requests started being answered. Whitby's new, temporary cricket pitch opened on Saturday, July 2 at Brooklin Memorial Park, 67 Winchester Rd. E. The cricket field, in the infield of the walking and running track, includes a temporary pitching mat and wickets, line marking and a storage vault. Whitby staff worked with a number of local partners to plan the new facility and the local Whitby Cricket Club is developing an inclusive program open to the entire community. "We're very pleased to be opening a new, temporary cricket ground for community use at Brooklin Memorial Park. The popularity of the sport of cricket has been growing in Whitby in recent years. This new temporary pitch will help respond to this significant community interest until a permanent field can be considered as part of our long-term parks and recreation master plan update which will begin later this year," John Romano, Whitby's commissioner of community services, said via email. "It's our hope that residents who have yet to experience the sport will have the chance to do so this summer." Construction is underway in Oshawa for a new cricket pitch at Stone Street Park, 1535 Cedar St. The field used to be a baseball diamond so it wasn't a big grading project to convert it, explained manager of parks planning and development Mitch Wiskel. Only the artificial turf and cricket equipment installation was needed. The sod around the pitch will need a few weeks to establish once construction is complete. By mid-July, the Oshawa cricket pitch will be ready for play. "This is a small temporary pitch meant to serve the cricket community until a more permanent solution can be built in north Oshawa with the appropriate land requirements," Wiskel added. In Clarington, park space for cricket was difficult to find, so the municipality reached an agreement with a local school board to set up a temporary pitch in a Courtice schoolyard. The cricket pitch overlay will be at the Holy Trinity Catholic Secondary School, 2260 Courtice Rd. Clarington purchased a portable mat and storage container for the pitch, and reached an agreement with the Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District School Board to use their facilities for municipal programming during the summer. The Clarington pitch is expected to be ready for play by mid-July. "That's temporary. The players, they would like something more permanent," said Coun. Anderson. "My vision is when we develop the Courtice Waterfront, I want to make sure a permanent cricket pitch becomes part of the plan." Ahmed said he would have preferred to see a Clarington Fields baseball diamond converted for cricket but is happy to see some progress being made for the sport he loves. He will "absolutely not" miss playing in the dark in the empty Whitby GO parking lot. "My oldest daughter is 12. I always worry. If these kids run and dive to catch the ball on that hard concrete, they're not coming back in one piece," said Ahmed. "You're not able to play the sport the way it's meant to be played." STORY BEHIND THE STORY: This Week was invited out to watch a 10:30 p.m. cricket game in the Whitby GO station parking lot, and then decide to followup on municipal plans to create new cricket pitches in Clarington, Oshawa and Whitby. NEWS SCAN THE CODE to read more Durham news online. Continued from page 1 'THE POPULARITY OF THE SPORT OF CRICKET HAS BEEN GROWING IN WHITBY IN RECENT YEARS' "This community is becoming more diverse. We want to make this a welcoming place for all different cultures." - Clarington regional councillor Granville Anderson Whitby's new, temporary cricket pitch opened on Saturday, July 2 at Brooklin Memorial Park, 67 Winchester Rd. E., in the infield of the walking and running track. Town of Whitby photo