Standfirst: The game has gone from friendly matches on dusty fields and car parks to competitive fixtures and the National Cricket Championship
By Rashid Hassan
RIYADH: In the 1980s, sporadic friendly cricket matches began popping up on the streets of major Saudi Arabia cities as a weekend pastime for millions of expatriates from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Over the decades they would serve as a vital cultural bridge and community anchor for those who had made the Kingdom their home. Today, their impact has spread nationwide.
The diaspora has contributed richly to the development of cricket played in the Kingdom for about five decades, with the South Asian communities regularly organizing informal street matches, and local league tournaments, with major cultural sports events in various cities.
Every weekend and public holiday would see these neighborhood and community games taking place on empty playgrounds, parking areas and open spaces.
Amid sprawling cityscapes casting a warm orange glow, a group of men would gather on empty lots in casual outfits, some wearing cricket jerseys and others in their traditional attire.
The sound of lively chatter and laughter fill the air as they set up for a friendly match.
They work together to mark out a makeshift pitch on the dusty plot, using chalk to draw the boundaries and creases. As the preparations continue, the players take turns to warm up by throwing the ball to each other.
Adding fuel to the passion, a small group of spectators also gather on the sidelines, eager to watch the game unfold, chatting amongst themselves, discussing the players’ skills and approach to the game, and making predictions on which side would win or lose.
Saquib Hamza, a cricket enthusiast who worked in Alkhobar before moving to Riyadh, told Arab News: “Cricket being played here has a storied heritage across Saudi Arabia’s parking lots, streets, and open spaces.”
He added: “Street cricket has been a favorite pastime as neighborhoods, empty lots, and parking spaces in big cities like Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam regularly transform into lively pitches on weekends and off-days.”
Dr. Gayas Ahmed Sattar, president of the GK International Indian Sports Club, an organization that has helped raise the game’s popularity at community level in recent years in Riyadh, told Arab News: “The development of cricket in the Kingdom is an inspirational story.
“For decades, early-morning gatherings were the only way for the South Asian diaspora to play cricket.”
He added: “Now popular, cricket has made its presence felt and made its roots strong, thanks to the efforts of the expats from South Asian countries, and the great support now being provided by the Saudi Arabian Cricket Federation.
“Coming together, the diaspora and the federation have contributed immensely to this effort from the grassroots level to the management level of the game.”
For a long time, cricket, or street cricket, in Saudi Arabia was played almost exclusively by the South Asian diaspora, but in recent years it has taken major leaps with the SACF, the official governing body in the Kingdom.
However, organized matches predate the SACF by decades. It was in 1978 when, for the first time, regional cricket associations in Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam held matches on weekends and developed cricket facilities.
In 2003, after obtaining a license from the General Presidency for Youth Welfare, Saudi Cricket was formally registered as an associate member of the Asian Cricket Council.
And also an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council with its main objective to promote, popularize and develop the game in the Kingdom at the grassroots level.
In 2020, the SACF, under the auspices of the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee and the Ministry of Sports, was finally established, with Prince Saud bin Mishal Al-Saud as chairman of the federation.
Following the formation of the SACF, cricket began to spread across the Kingdom with the game’s ruling body introducing a series of competitions and programs that encouraged the nation’s youth to take up one of the world’s oldest and most popular sports.
Those steps proved to be game changers in raising cricket’s profile among Saudis and expatriates alike.
The SACF then signed a deal with the Sports for All Federation to launch various programs. And in 2021 set up the National Cricket Championship, the biggest-ever tournament in Saudi Arabia’s history with more than 7,000 players and 360 teams playing at over 100 grounds across 11 cities.
This competition brought genuine competitive cricket action to Riyadh, Dammam, Jubail, Jeddah, Madinah, Yanbu, Tabuk, Abha, Jazan, Qassim and Najran.
Other programs included a corporate cricket tournament, a league for expatriate workers, and a social program introduced in various cities.
These programs, according to the SACF, were part of the Kingdom’s mission to promote a healthy and active lifestyle under the Saudi Vision 2030’s Quality of Life program.
The SACF, supported by the Ministry of Sports and Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee, has been mandated to increase physical activity levels by 40 percent over the decade.
Mohammed Azimooddin Abdul Rahiman Karajagi, an ICC-certified curator and umpire, associated with the Riyadh Cricket Association, praised the Kingdom’s authorities.
“The formation and quick transformation of the Saudi Arabian Cricket Federation under the patronage of Prince Saud bin Mishal Al-Saud, chairman of the SACF, had a significant impact on the development of cricket across the country,” he told Arab News.
He added: “I have seen cricket being played in this region for several decades now.
“In the beginning there was very limited opportunity to play the game by the South Asian expatriates, on the weekend they would gather at some open space for a friendly match.
“Then club cricket started and now the SACF headed by Prince Saud is doing a wonderful job for the development of competitive cricket in the Kingdom.”
He added: “We, the cricket lovers in the Kingdom, congratulate the SACF for taking initiatives to develop the game; we are delighted to see that professional cricketers are emerging from the Kingdom, and wish all the best to the Saudi team (to) qualify to the Cricket World Cup.”
