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Plan aims to make Hanover Park the 'epicenter' of cricket in U.S.

A 10-year deal between Hanover Park, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago and a national cricket organization could have major implications for the future of the sport in the suburbs.

The plan calls for construction of three cricket grounds and a soccer field on 23 acres owned by MWRD east of Hanover Highlands Elementary School in Hanover Park.

Shiraz Najam, president of the Midwestern Cricket Conference, said the new fields' proximity to Chicago and O'Hare International Airport mean they'll have "a very significant footprint" for cricket.

"We want to make Hanover Park the epicenter of cricket in the country," he said.

Hanover Park will not be funding the construction or maintenance of the fields. Instead, Mahammad Qureshi, co-founder of Cricket Council USA, said he's contributing several hundred thousand dollars to build the fields on behalf of the national organization.

Qureshi, a Fort Lauderdale, Florida resident, said he's invested millions in cricket-associated building projects in Broward and Palm Beach counties.

"It's my passion to develop cricket as an American sport," he said.

Choosing Hanover Park

Project backers offer several reasons why they see Hanover Park becoming a hot spot for cricket in the U.S. The sport's popularity is growing in the Chicago area and the village was home to one of the region's first commissioned cricket fields, built in 1999. Another field was later created at Heritage Park.

CCUSA's favorable relationship with the village is another reason the council is choosing to expand the sport in Hanover Park.

"It's really refreshing because most times when you go to the leadership in Chicago suburbs they don't understand or perhaps don't have the vision to go off of what's mainstream in America," Najam said.

The new fields will join 16 Midwest Cricket Council grounds in the region. Others are in locations including Naperville, Glendale Heights, Bolingbrook and Chicago, according to MCC data.

Cricket's growth

In its original form, cricket players compete in an eight- to nine-hour game. About a decade ago, a new version of the game emerged, with a shortened duration of about three to four hours, according to Najam.

The change increased participant engagement and attracted more players of all ages, Najam said.

Cricket players in America tend to be of Southeast Asian descent, specifically Asian Indian descent, though players also hail from the Caribbean and Australia, he added.

"That's the sport that they live and breathe. They seek it out. Even if it's being played at a far location," Najam said.

While census data shows Hanover Park's Indian population dipped slightly between 2010 and 2016, it's grown in several neighboring suburbs, including Schaumburg and Bartlett.

"Our demographics show there is a lot of population from countries where cricket is played. Not just in Hanover Park, but the surrounding communities," said Shubhra Govind, Hanover Park's director of community and economic development.

Room for expansion

The proposal adopted by the village May 17 calls for the construction of the cricket grounds and soccer field in phases.

According to Najam, the cricket council plans to build the fundamentals for cricket in the area by just creating fields, not full cricket facilities, He's hoping the fields can evolve to support national and international play in the future.

"Cricket is to many countries what baseball is to America," Govind said. "It ties into happy memories we grew up with."

  Shiraz Najam of the Midwestern Cricket Conference says Hanover Park's central location in the Chicago area makes it an attractive site to compete for the region's growing number of cricket players. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
The sight of a cricket game is becoming more common in the suburbs, in part due to changes in the way the game is played. Now a deal between Hanover Park and a national cricket organization aims to turn the village into a national epicenter for the sport. Daily Herald File Photo
Popular especially with residents who hail from Southeast Asia, cricket has been growing in the suburbs since the late 1990s. Daily Herald File Photo
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