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With the right rethat would be drafted by Cricket Ontario and Cricket Canada, the manager of the local team says
“They (Cricket Canada) have reserved spots to pick up players from northern Ontario but unfortunately, Timmins is always at the end of the stick because we are unable to provide a professional cricket field, which is the first eligibility criteria,” said Deepak Datta, manager of the Timmins Tigers Cricket Club.
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With a regulation field, games held in Timmins would be added to national statistics.
“That’s where we’re losing,” Datta told The Daily Press in an Aug. 19 telephone interview.
In August, 2025, Timmins city council voted to remove plans for a regulation-sized cricket field from Leo Del Villano Park.
Datta was deeply discouraged when he first heard the news, especially since he had made the effort to personally reach out to Ward 5 Coun Steve Black, Ward 3 Coun. Bill Gvozdanovic, and had in-person meetings with Mayor Michelle Boileau and Dave Landers, the city’s chief administrative officer and now city clerk.
“I was very disappointed. I just wanted to give up and say ‘I cannot fight this battle,’” he said.
The plan to include a professional cricket field had been put forward by the city’s growth and infrastructure engineering division based on the city’s updated recreation master plan, with the full support of Mayor Boileau.
Bill Gvozdanovic put forward the motion to scrap that idea, over concerns from affected residents about the noise impact of moving tennis and pickleball courts to the northwest corner of the park to accommodate the field.
Gvozdanovic said he has nothing against cricket, which is why he asked staff to come up with alternative sites.
A recorded vote was held with Gvozdanovic, Ward 5 Coun. Steve Black, Ward 4 Coun. John Curley, Ward 2 Coun. Lorne Feldman and Ward 1 Coun. Rock Whissell voting in favour of the motion. Ward 5 Coun. Cory Robin and Mayor Boileau opposed the motion, while Ward 5 councillors Andrew Marks and Kristin Murray were absent from the meeting.
Since then, a parcel of land across from a transformer station on Moneta Avenue was offered by Discovery Mining for a cricket field but then deemed unfit for the purpose.
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Datta is still waiting for an alternate proposal from the city.
City spokesperson Amanda Dyer said Wednesday there was no update on the city’s search for an alternate cricket pitch site.
A dental surgeon by day, Datta said the town’s growing cricket community offers a chance to raise Timmins’ profile and contribute to the local sports tourism economy.
Despite these setbacks, the sport continues to grow.
Datta says the Tigers have expanded from 25 to 45 players, this season from last, and Timmins is now the home of three new budding clubs of 11 to 15 players each: The Timmins Thunderhawks, Punjab Kings Timmins and the Timmins Hawks.
Southern Ontario teams from Toronto, Brampton and Oshawa, and Winnipeg have expressed an interest in playing in Timmins.
Brampton played a tournament in Timmins in 2022 following which Datta received an appreciative letter from its mayor, Patrick Brown.
“They sent us a letter of appreciation for promoting cricket in northern Ontario,” he said.
Without a professional field, however, not everyone is getting a chance to play.
“I want to plead to all city councillors to please give us a professional cricket field wherever it would fit, so that we can make the sport of cricket prosper and the kids will learn a new sport,” Datta said.
“I can definitely give Timmins professional cricket athletes that can be drafted into Cricket Ontario. From there you get inducted into Cricket Canada.”
England’s national sport, cricketinvolves two teams of 11 players and is played with a cricket bat and ball in an oval field with a rectangular “pitch” in its centre. A “wicket,” a set of three posts, is set in the ground at each end of the pitch. Across the top of each wicket lie horizontal pieces called bails. The object of the game is to score the most runs by hitting the wicket with the ball so the bails fall.
It is popular in communities around the world, especially in India, Australia, England, New Zealand, Pakistan, Bangladesh, South Africa, and the West Indies.
In Timmins, Datta said many communities champion the sport.
“There are players who work in the mines from New Zealand, Jamaica, as well as South Africa who are not playing because they don’t have a standard field yet,” Datta said.
Tigers to host Fourth Annual Mayor’s Cup this weekend
The team currently plays at Fern Tremblay Park in Mountjoy, the city’s west end.
Datta says the field is uneven, has potholes and poses a risk of injury.
Despite these challenges, potholes have been repaired, and he was able to convince three teams from Thunder Bay to attend this weekend’s 4th Annual Mayor’s Cup tournament.
It is a tradition in the Canadian cricket world to call tournaments the “Mayor’s Cup,” in honour of the sport’s reliance on local municipal support and infrastructure.
Even though games will not be played on a professional field, the tournament is sanctioned by the Ontario Cricket Academy to support the development of the sport.
However, because of the non-standard field, Datta had to get additional liability insurance for participating players and officials.
“If they wouldn’t come here, then cricket won’t prosper, so they’re actually helping us, by playing in this field,” he said of the northern teams.
A team from Sudbury was also interested in participating but was not able to attend due to some injuries on their team.
The tournament takes place Friday through Sunday, Aug 28-30. Visiting teams and referees who are licensed with the Ontario Cricket Academy will stay for three nights, contributing to local tourism.
“This is not a small event. All stats and match results will go to the media in Toronto and the Ontario Cricket Academy, which is affiliated with Cricket Canada,” Datta said.
The 2026 tournament enjoys the support of the City of Timmins and its economic development department, the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation, and local businesses.
“Hopefully we’ll be able to create a good show this weekend, and the sport flourishes,” he said
When the city awarded the design contract for Leo Del Villano Park in June of last year, Mayor Boileau expressed excitement that Timmins could win the “unspoken race” among northern cities to build the region’s first professional cricket field.
Datta said there is still no regulation-sized cricket pitch in northern Ontario.
A professional cricket field must be 130 metres in diameter, and 65 metres from the centre of the pitch — about twice the size of the current home of the Timmins Tigers at Fern Tremblay Park.
And there are other problems, too.
“We have a creek over there,” said Datta, pointing to the east from the centre of the pitch, in an in-person interview at Fern Tremblay Park on Tuesday.
“The problem is if we hit the ball, it goes into the creek, and each ball is $25. Then we have to deploy re(fewer) than 30 metres from (the batting end of) our cricket pitch, which poses a risk of injury to residents and anyone who is walking around the park. That limits us in organizing cricket games.”
Tournaments generate economic benefits for Timmins
Datta was deeply discouraged when he first heard the news Leo Del Villano Park would not be the site of a new field.
“I was very disappointed. I just wanted to give up and say ‘I cannot fight this battle.’”
Noella Rinaldo, director of community economic development, said the cricket tournaments have generated 800 hotel room nights over the past four years.
“The Timmins Tigers Tournament has created an estimated $155,000 in economic spinoff, including the anticipated impact from this year’s tournament,” Noella wrote in an email.
“To date, the tournament has received $54,000 in funding through the tourism development fund (formerly known as the municipal accommodation tax fund), supporting an event that continues to attract visitors and generate economic activity for Timmins,” she wrote.
He said it was a fun day for the students before taking their summer break, but without a professional field, he can’t start a kid’s, girl’s or women’s league, for liability reasons.
The Mayor’s Cup 2026 takes place this weekend, Aug. 28-30, at Fern Tremblay Park, 215 Royale St., Timmins, Ontario. Friday, Aug. 28 at 4 p.m., the Timmins Tigers play the Timmins Thunderhawks. Games continue Saturday, Aug. 29 from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Semi finals are Sunday, Aug. 30 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., with finals from 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and awards presented at 8 p.m. As sporadic rain is called for on Sunday, buffer time has been scheduled so games can be completed as scheduled. For more information, call 416-820-4219.
Source: www.timminspress.com
