It is not inconceivable that existing sports clubs in Eindhoven will soon have to share their pitches with cricket clubs. The sport is booming in the city and the square metres of turf are limited. It sometimes leads to tension.
Thousands of Indian knowledge workers have joined one of the many technology companies in the region. In India, cricket is wildly popular. Hence, the sport is growing popular in Eindhoven.
At VV Gestel, they faced this two years ago. Chairman Herman Brugmans says two sports fields on Locatellistraat were suddenly allocated to a cricket club. Now, two hundred cricket players occupy two of the four fields. On the other two pitches, VV Gestel’s 600 members play football. As a result, the club no longer has room to grow.
Respect
But what bothers Brugmans is the cricketers’ attitude. According to him, they have no respect for the rules that apply to all visitors to the sports fields. ‘They refuse to use the stands and take their bikes to the pitch. Adults just walk into a full locker room with children, even though it has been asked not to.’
Moreover, the association makes new demands every time about the use of the fields, according to Brugmans. ‘First, our lighting was removed because the poles would be in the way. Then our fence had to go. And now new lighting is being installed, but one specifically geared to cricket. It’s take, take, take with those cricketers, never give. Honestly, I’d rather see them go than come.’
To play cricket requires a lot of space. At least two football pitches plus an extra strip for pitching. ‘Low intensive we call that,’ says Bart Jan Collenburg of the Royal Dutch Cricket Association. He is charged on behalf of the organisation with the task of arranging more cricket pitches in the south of the Netherlands. In recent years, this has happened on the grounds of the High Tech Campus, in Woensel, and on Locatellistraat. Currently, a pitch near the Van der Valk Hotel on Aalsterweg is under consideration, adjacent to the accommodation of the hockey club Oranje-Rood.
Disadvantaged
‘They have not asked us to make hockey pitches available,’ said Pieter Janssen, the chairman of Oranje-Rood. ‘But talks are being held. We are going to see if it is possible to share the dressing rooms with cricket players, for example.’ Janssen is not afraid that his ‘own’ club will be disadvantaged. Indeed, he is open to any kind of cooperation. ‘It is important that expats who have come to live in Eindhoven and the surrounding area can continue to play their sport. For a soft landing, so to speak. I think that is in the interest of our entire region.’
Source-Eindhoven News
For Eindhoven News: Chaitali Sengupta. She also gives online INBURGERING classes.
