For now, the fields at Cloverland Park in northern Baltimore County are bare, save for swirls of yellowed grass and the occasional deer track.
But by summer, athletes are expected to be scurrying across a manicured playing field here. Dressed in white and thwacking leather balls at a wooden wicket, they won't be playing baseball or lacrosse or any of the sports more commonly associated with this region. They will be playing cricket.
After more than 30 years of playing at various locations in the county, the men of the Maryland Cricket Club will be granted a semipermanent home at the park, near the old Peerce's Plantation restaurant on Dulaney Valley Road.
For the cricket players - many of whom hail from India, Pakistan and the Caribbean - the new field marks an important sign of recognition for their sport, which attracts a huge following in countries in the Commonwealth.
"In India, it's pretty much a religion when they play this game," says Sakar Kalwe, 28, who played cricket professionally in his native country before moving to Reisterstown. "Cricket is a mainstream sport there - like soccer or lacrosse here. Pretty much every small kid learns to play it, and that's what they grow up with."
Officials with the county's recreation and parks office say that while their top priority is providing facilities for young people to play the most popular sports, they also do their best to accommodate aficionados of more esoteric sports such as archery, fencing and cricket.
"Baltimore County will help any community that shows a willingness and desire to help themselves," says Bud Chrismer, the county's acting deputy director of recreation and parks. While teams must pay for their own uniforms, equipment and referees, the county will try to provide and maintain a place for them to play.
In the case of the cricket players, "they're a good group who have been following the rules for the past 30-some years," Chrismer says, adding that he expects to spend less than $25,000 to build the cricket field. "It's not like we're trying to create a cricket mecca; we're just trying to create a home for them."
From the folks who play bicycle polo in Mount Washington to Little Italy's bocce ball players, the Baltimore area is home to numerous practitioners of lesser-known sports. Several recreation programs in the surrounding counties offer disc golf, archery and rugby, and the city sponsors an annual frog hop and soapbox derby.
