Cricket, with origins in England, gains steam in Minnesota
A man plays cricket at Bryn Mawr Park in Minneapolis.
Courtesy Piyush Patel
Go Deeper.
Create an account or log in to save stories.
Like this?
Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.
The sport of cricket seems to be having a moment. Last week it was added as an Olympic sport for 2028. This past summer was the first ever Major League cricket tournament in the U.S.
Eka Sport is Minnesota's first indoor cricket facility.
Courtesy of Eka Sport
Here in Minnesota, more parks are being created with cricket pitches in mind. And now Minnesota is set to have its first indoor cricket facility next month. MPR News host Cathy Wurzer spoke with Nick Beecher and Piyush Patel, two of the people behind that facility, Eka.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Subscribe to the Minnesota Now podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
We attempt to make transcripts for Minnesota Now available the next business day after a broadcast. When ready they will appear here.
Turn Up Your Support
MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all.
Audio transcript
CATHY WURZER: The sport of cricket seems to be having a moment. Last week, it was added as an Olympic sport for 2028. This past summer was the first ever Major League cricket tournament in the US. Here in Minnesota, more parks are being created with cricket pitches in mind. And now, Minnesota is set to have its first indoor cricket facility next month. Joining us on the line, Nick Beecher and Piyush Patel, two of the people behind that facility called Eka. Nick and Piyush, welcome.
NICK BEECHER: Thank you, Cathy. We really appreciate you--
PIYUSH PATEL: Thank you, Cathy.
NICK BEECHER: --having us on.
CATHY WURZER: Thanks for being here. Apologies for any silly questions I may ask about the sport, as I am unfamiliar with it. So, Piyush, can I start with you? Can you--
PIYUSH PATEL: Sure.
CATHY WURZER: --give us a quick explainer on the sport of cricket?
PIYUSH PATEL: Yep, so like everyone knows, right, the cricket popularity is growing in the US and as we are kind of having a lot of youth playing cricket all over the US. And cricket has kind of played in the USA in 18th century with the European settlers-- Philadelphia, Boston, New York City, et cetera, right? And first international cricket match was played in USA in 1859 between US and England in New York, and then later on, USA and Canada. And in Minnesota, the first cricket being played in 1976 in capital, in our state.
CATHY WURZER: Wow, wow. So--
PIYUSH PATEL: Yeah, so that's [INAUDIBLE].
CATHY WURZER: --it's got roots. It has some long roots here. Nick, when I was looking at some video, it kind of looks like baseball, sort of, but not really. [LAUGHS] I don't know. How do you describe it.?
NICK BEECHER: Yeah, I think that's people's first connection to the sport, right? It's a bat and ball game, where the bowler throws the ball to the batter. The batter tries to hit it and score runs, right? That's pretty familiar with us here in the US with baseball. I mean, some of the differences then that come is in cricket, there's 11 people on defense, and the whole field is in play. There's no out of bounds. So you play 360 degrees around the field.
The ball is always live. And the batter, the batsman can always score runs. And so I think that's what kind of makes it a very exciting sport. The batsman, if they get out once, they're done for that game, right? And so the defense is trying to get them out 10 times before the offense scores as many runs as they can.
CATHY WURZER: Somebody told me, Piyush, that it takes a long time to get through a cricket match, sometimes days. Is that right?
PIYUSH PATEL: Yes, and no, right? And that's a misconception about cricket is a very long game and often continues for days. And there are various formats of the game, right? And the shortest format of the game lasts 3 to 3 and 1/2 hours. And it's a lot of fun, which is kind of gaining a lot of popularity worldwide in today's world.
Then, there is another version, which is more of like the longer version, which is a day, which goes like six to seven hours, and then the five days. But in the United States, mostly it's played in like a three hours version of that game, shortest format. And it's a misconception, right? It's which format you would like to play.
CATHY WURZER: Ah, OK, got it. Thank you so much. Say, Nick, I'm wondering here, again, going back to videos I've seen on YouTube. I mean, you got to be in good shape. And it looks like it can be kind of a tough game to play.
NICK BEECHER: Yeah, I mean, as a batsman, you can be out there a long time. You're running consistently every time you hit the ball, and it's 22 yards minimum every time you run. As a fielder, you're covering a whole lot of ground, right? So you're asked to get going from the moment the ball is hit. You got to be attentive.
Yeah, so it's a sport that takes a lot of skill that really helps youth kind of develop teamwork, competitiveness, and then also just the relationships that they have with others. And I think that's what, as someone new to the sport, I've come away with watching my boys play, is just the relationships and the community that exists when this sport has been different than I've seen in some of the sports I played growing up, which has kind of been very exciting for my kids.
CATHY WURZER: Piyush, I know you've been playing cricket for a long time. I know your kids play cricket. And I know cricket players are a passionate bunch. You know? So what is it about this sport that just ignites passion?
PIYUSH PATEL: Yeah, so I started playing back home, right, when I was at eight years of age and then played in the school and played for my university when I came back here and said, OK, we can play cricket here, too. And my boy picked up playing cricket. And he's playing in youth cricket for longer. And the advantage of playing that is, it's a mental agility and improves the concentration. It builds kind of, I would say, hand-eye coordination. And it improves your social and leadership skills. And that is more of passion about this game.
CATHY WURZER: And it's huge in South Asia, right? I mean, especially in India.
PIYUSH PATEL: Yes, absolutely.
CATHY WURZER: Say, congratulations--
PIYUSH PATEL: Yeah, and--
CATHY WURZER: Go ahead.
PIYUSH PATEL: Yeah, and as Nick mentioned, right, about the social engagement, the leadership quality, mental development, and having a more inclusive and diversified game. So that's a good part of it.
CATHY WURZER: Congratulations on getting this indoor facility, which, of course, in Minnesota, is always good to have something like that to play inside. It opens, what, next month? Nick, it's called Eka. Is that right?
NICK BEECHER: Yeah, it's Eka Sport. Eka is a Sanskrit word for "one." So it's kind of one sport, one community we hope to build through this facility and sport. And yeah, the idea and just come in with Piyush and a couple other coaches and dads. As you mentioned, there's only so much outdoor time our kids get to play the sport. And so, for those kids that want to be competitive or even people who are new to the sport, having a place indoors to come together competitively, recreationally, is just something that we're hoping is great for everybody.
CATHY WURZER: So is it possible, because of the growing popularity here in the state of Minnesota, do you both think that it's possible that this could become like a state high school league sanctioned sport? Piyush, what do you think?
PIYUSH PATEL: Yeah, so give a little bit of background of that. We did have [INAUDIBLE] high school team and the Blaine High School. In the last couple of years, we did play between two high school teams. And it's when the popularity is growing up, definitely, it will be on the horizon. And as the T20 Cricket World Cup coming next year, USA cricket is building a kind of scholarship program and whatnot, right? So it's going in the right direction. Going forward, we will see our Minnesota State team as well. I hope that.
CATHY WURZER: Nick, what do you think of the possibility of that happening?
NICK BEECHER: Yeah, extremely hopeful, right? I mean, we've been trying to do this indoor facility for four years, and we're going to make it happen. And we've seen our youth teams develop and kind of compete across the country. So I mean, I believe anything's possible. And I think there's an interest there.
And the more people get exposure and just see what it's like, it would be great to have Minnesota be a leader in the high school level, as well as one of our-- and I'll just talk a little bit about you expand it to the high school and we've kind of been associating this as a boys' sport, but one of our things is, we've had some girls on our teams before, and we really hope that our girls and women players find a place that they can come play, too, and get together and expand the sport that way, too.
CATHY WURZER: OK, so you're going to open this new facility next month. I'm presuming you're going to have some big celebration, right? Nick?
NICK BEECHER: Yeah, we'll be having a grand opening. There's some with the other individuals we're working with. We'll have some guests of honor. People can come play cricket, see what it's all about, and just kind of see what the community has.
CATHY WURZER: Sounds like fun. Nick and Piyush, thank you so much for your time, and best of luck.
PIYUSH PATEL: Thank you very much.
CATHY WURZER: It's been a pleasure. Nick Beecher, Piyush Patel, two of the founders of Eka, which will be the state's first indoor cricket facility. It sounds like a fun sport. I'm going to have to watch a little bit more of it. Thank you for joining us today here on Minnesota Now. It was a full show, starting out with Mark Zdechlik in Washington, DC, following the saga of Minnesota Congressman Tom Emmer as a potential Speaker candidate, to talk about cricket. You get it all here on Minnesota Now on MPR News.
NICK BEECHER: Thank you, Cathy. We really appreciate you--
PIYUSH PATEL: Thank you, Cathy.
NICK BEECHER: --having us on.
CATHY WURZER: Thanks for being here. Apologies for any silly questions I may ask about the sport, as I am unfamiliar with it. So, Piyush, can I start with you? Can you--
PIYUSH PATEL: Sure.
CATHY WURZER: --give us a quick explainer on the sport of cricket?
PIYUSH PATEL: Yep, so like everyone knows, right, the cricket popularity is growing in the US and as we are kind of having a lot of youth playing cricket all over the US. And cricket has kind of played in the USA in 18th century with the European settlers-- Philadelphia, Boston, New York City, et cetera, right? And first international cricket match was played in USA in 1859 between US and England in New York, and then later on, USA and Canada. And in Minnesota, the first cricket being played in 1976 in capital, in our state.
CATHY WURZER: Wow, wow. So--
PIYUSH PATEL: Yeah, so that's [INAUDIBLE].
CATHY WURZER: --it's got roots. It has some long roots here. Nick, when I was looking at some video, it kind of looks like baseball, sort of, but not really. [LAUGHS] I don't know. How do you describe it.?
NICK BEECHER: Yeah, I think that's people's first connection to the sport, right? It's a bat and ball game, where the bowler throws the ball to the batter. The batter tries to hit it and score runs, right? That's pretty familiar with us here in the US with baseball. I mean, some of the differences then that come is in cricket, there's 11 people on defense, and the whole field is in play. There's no out of bounds. So you play 360 degrees around the field.
The ball is always live. And the batter, the batsman can always score runs. And so I think that's what kind of makes it a very exciting sport. The batsman, if they get out once, they're done for that game, right? And so the defense is trying to get them out 10 times before the offense scores as many runs as they can.
CATHY WURZER: Somebody told me, Piyush, that it takes a long time to get through a cricket match, sometimes days. Is that right?
PIYUSH PATEL: Yes, and no, right? And that's a misconception about cricket is a very long game and often continues for days. And there are various formats of the game, right? And the shortest format of the game lasts 3 to 3 and 1/2 hours. And it's a lot of fun, which is kind of gaining a lot of popularity worldwide in today's world.
Then, there is another version, which is more of like the longer version, which is a day, which goes like six to seven hours, and then the five days. But in the United States, mostly it's played in like a three hours version of that game, shortest format. And it's a misconception, right? It's which format you would like to play.
CATHY WURZER: Ah, OK, got it. Thank you so much. Say, Nick, I'm wondering here, again, going back to videos I've seen on YouTube. I mean, you got to be in good shape. And it looks like it can be kind of a tough game to play.
NICK BEECHER: Yeah, I mean, as a batsman, you can be out there a long time. You're running consistently every time you hit the ball, and it's 22 yards minimum every time you run. As a fielder, you're covering a whole lot of ground, right? So you're asked to get going from the moment the ball is hit. You got to be attentive.
Yeah, so it's a sport that takes a lot of skill that really helps youth kind of develop teamwork, competitiveness, and then also just the relationships that they have with others. And I think that's what, as someone new to the sport, I've come away with watching my boys play, is just the relationships and the community that exists when this sport has been different than I've seen in some of the sports I played growing up, which has kind of been very exciting for my kids.
CATHY WURZER: Piyush, I know you've been playing cricket for a long time. I know your kids play cricket. And I know cricket players are a passionate bunch. You know? So what is it about this sport that just ignites passion?
PIYUSH PATEL: Yeah, so I started playing back home, right, when I was at eight years of age and then played in the school and played for my university when I came back here and said, OK, we can play cricket here, too. And my boy picked up playing cricket. And he's playing in youth cricket for longer. And the advantage of playing that is, it's a mental agility and improves the concentration. It builds kind of, I would say, hand-eye coordination. And it improves your social and leadership skills. And that is more of passion about this game.
CATHY WURZER: And it's huge in South Asia, right? I mean, especially in India.
PIYUSH PATEL: Yes, absolutely.
CATHY WURZER: Say, congratulations--
PIYUSH PATEL: Yeah, and--
CATHY WURZER: Go ahead.
PIYUSH PATEL: Yeah, and as Nick mentioned, right, about the social engagement, the leadership quality, mental development, and having a more inclusive and diversified game. So that's a good part of it.
CATHY WURZER: Congratulations on getting this indoor facility, which, of course, in Minnesota, is always good to have something like that to play inside. It opens, what, next month? Nick, it's called Eka. Is that right?
NICK BEECHER: Yeah, it's Eka Sport. Eka is a Sanskrit word for "one." So it's kind of one sport, one community we hope to build through this facility and sport. And yeah, the idea and just come in with Piyush and a couple other coaches and dads. As you mentioned, there's only so much outdoor time our kids get to play the sport. And so, for those kids that want to be competitive or even people who are new to the sport, having a place indoors to come together competitively, recreationally, is just something that we're hoping is great for everybody.
CATHY WURZER: So is it possible, because of the growing popularity here in the state of Minnesota, do you both think that it's possible that this could become like a state high school league sanctioned sport? Piyush, what do you think?
PIYUSH PATEL: Yeah, so give a little bit of background of that. We did have [INAUDIBLE] high school team and the Blaine High School. In the last couple of years, we did play between two high school teams. And it's when the popularity is growing up, definitely, it will be on the horizon. And as the T20 Cricket World Cup coming next year, USA cricket is building a kind of scholarship program and whatnot, right? So it's going in the right direction. Going forward, we will see our Minnesota State team as well. I hope that.
CATHY WURZER: Nick, what do you think of the possibility of that happening?
NICK BEECHER: Yeah, extremely hopeful, right? I mean, we've been trying to do this indoor facility for four years, and we're going to make it happen. And we've seen our youth teams develop and kind of compete across the country. So I mean, I believe anything's possible. And I think there's an interest there.
And the more people get exposure and just see what it's like, it would be great to have Minnesota be a leader in the high school level, as well as one of our-- and I'll just talk a little bit about you expand it to the high school and we've kind of been associating this as a boys' sport, but one of our things is, we've had some girls on our teams before, and we really hope that our girls and women players find a place that they can come play, too, and get together and expand the sport that way, too.
CATHY WURZER: OK, so you're going to open this new facility next month. I'm presuming you're going to have some big celebration, right? Nick?
NICK BEECHER: Yeah, we'll be having a grand opening. There's some with the other individuals we're working with. We'll have some guests of honor. People can come play cricket, see what it's all about, and just kind of see what the community has.
CATHY WURZER: Sounds like fun. Nick and Piyush, thank you so much for your time, and best of luck.
PIYUSH PATEL: Thank you very much.
CATHY WURZER: It's been a pleasure. Nick Beecher, Piyush Patel, two of the founders of Eka, which will be the state's first indoor cricket facility. It sounds like a fun sport. I'm going to have to watch a little bit more of it. Thank you for joining us today here on Minnesota Now. It was a full show, starting out with Mark Zdechlik in Washington, DC, following the saga of Minnesota Congressman Tom Emmer as a potential Speaker candidate, to talk about cricket. You get it all here on Minnesota Now on MPR News.
Download transcript (PDF)
Transcription services provided by 3Play Media.