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HOUSTON is seeing a rapid expansion of cricket as baseball fields give way to new pitches and indoor centres, reflecting the influence of immigrant communities from India, England, the West Indies, Australia and South Africa. Local organiser Surya Saladi, who founded the Triggers Cricket Consortium (TCC) in 2004 as an adults’ club, said the group now oversees more than 1,000 youth players aged seven to 17 and operates around 45 tapedball youth teams. TCC runs high-performance courses, supports both tapedball and traditional formats and uses 35 cricket grounds across the Houston area, combining grass wickets and astroturf facilities to meet rising demand. HOUSTON coaches and officials say the sport is moving beyond its niche status as professional coaching, growing youth structures and viable professional opportunities emerge across the United States. Dutch coach Job van Bunge notes that cricket pitches now occupy spaces once dominated by baseball diamonds, while former Bangladesh international Gholam Nousher says standards are improving and girls’ teams are forming from age seven. Youth player Ishaan Malpani trains and plays matches most days and views international cricket as an attainable goal, a belief reinforced by official Dipak Singh, who points to five Houston players recently making the U.S. Under-19 team and to the city hosting the National Youth Cricket Tournament, which draws 56 teams each year.

Prepared by Emily Rhodes and reviewed by editorial team.