The Ottawa Valley Strikers don’t just want to revive Cricket in the community, they want to make the pitch at McLean Ball Diamonds state of the art.
Two club representatives shared an ambitious plan with Municipal Council October 27th, starting with a history lesson.
Flash forward to the 2020s, and the Ottawa Valley Strikers began when a few community members started playing cricket behind the Arnprior hospital using makeshift equipment.
Since then, the sport has gained popularity within the community, and activities were formalized into an organized club.
2024 was a year for “friendlies” and organized tournaments- and 2025 sees the formation of a five-team circuit, known as the Capital Cup, with squads in Kanata, Stittsville and Ottawa- with most of the matches hosted on Diamond Three at McLean Beach Park.
The Ottawa Valley Strikers Club itself is attracting members from a broad perimetre ranging from Renfrew to Carleton Place.
What the Strikers would like is to lay artificial turf on the pitch portion to eliminate random bounces that are indicative of unprofessional play.
In fact, the Strikers already own the artificial turf that would be required- they’d just like the Town to partner by laying it- a bigger job than you might think.
That process would involve: excavating the ground approximately 10 inches deep, filling and leveling with gravel, compacting the surface, laying a metal base, compacting again- and then installing the artificial turf.
An even pitch eliminates any “home side advantage”, and is necessary if Arnprior is going to be a venue moving the sport forward.
Adding the 10×20 yard artificial strip used for the pitching and bowling activity isn’t like redoing the ice at the NSC, according to Rec Director Graeme Ivory.
Ivory believes that competition for field time resulting from increased Cricket usage is manageable at the McLean Ball diamonds, so the future of Cricket in Arnprior may indeed come full circle.
By Rick Stow
