Residents in Fort Bend County enjoy the benefit of a community diverse in its cultures, cities, and lifestyles. Now the community is celebrating a new park in Richmond for a growing interest in the sport of cricket. The Jones Creek Cricket Park opened this week, according to the Houston Chronicle.

With the opening of the cricket park, Houston-area children will have a safe, convenient place to enjoy the world’s second most-popular sport. Vyas, the president of the Sugar Land Youth Cricket Club, said the proximity of the field will also encourage more families to get involved in cricket.

Precinct 3 Commissioner Andy Meyers said the county acquired the Richmond park to expand recreational facilities and to attract more kids to the area. It was community members, such as Vyas, who urged them to add the cricket pitch.

Fort Bend County, which includes Sugar Land and parts of Katy, is one of the fastest-growing and most diverse counties in the nation. About one-fifth of its residents are Asian, including large numbers of Indians and Pakistanis.

While the sport is especially popular in Indian-American communities, many fans hope to expand the love for game across the region.

“This is bringing (the) community together,” said Fort Bend County Judge KP George, who helped bring about the Jones Creek Cricket Park. “This is not about one community. It’s about ‘We are going to promote (cricket) among the Caucasians, the African Americans and Hispanics so they could make it the sport for everybody.’”

Raj Malpani, who coaches 7 to 10-year-olds with Katy Youth Cricket, said he was thrilled to find out about the new park.

“It was amazing to see that elected officials are supporting cricket-playing kids,” he said.

During Saturday's event, local cricket clubs squared off in matches on the new pitch and tested out the park’s two new batting cages.

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