From Park to Pitch: Flicx transforms Riverside’s Cricket Facilities

After a few years of planning, the Riverside Premier Cricket League (RPCL) launched on April 6, 2024, and is already proving to be a tremendous success. With four more teams set to join the competition in August, the league is poised for significant growth.

Riverside, a city with a large Asian population located about 50 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles, has long been a cricket enthusiast’s haven. The league was the brainchild of Akshay Chikkaveeraiah, who aimed to professionalize the cricketing experience in the region. Akshay’s vision was to capitalize on the huge interest in the sport, especially with all roads leading to LA 2028, where cricket will be included for the first time.

Traditionally, finding a place to play cricket in Riverside had been challenging, and city authorities were initially hesitant to support the idea. However, Akshay had a vision of utilising a local park, similar to how cricket is played in San Diego, CA. He persistently lobbied city and park supervisors to gain a permit for cricket, with the idea of using the portable roll-out 2G Flicx Pitch. The City of Riverside Parks and Recreation department is now very supportive of cricket and is fully encouraging it to grow in a bid to attract cricketers from different parts of California. Improvised facilities running in harmony alongside other sports is a key consideration.

The Flicx Pitch’s portability and the fact that it causes no damage to the grass and ground underneath eventually won over the authorities. “The fact that the grass can breathe meant that they were pretty happy with the idea,” said Chikkaveeraiah. After researching the Flicx Pitch, the league went ahead with a full-length 20.12m Match Pitch, complete with the RPCL logo.

Matches have now taken place in the ideally suited location of Don Derr Park between the eight founding teams in the league every Saturday, with the games running from 8 am until 9:30 pm as floodlights are available. This maximises participation at the venue and are attracting a lot of spectators and generating significant local interest.

Each week, the players have found the pitch to be better and better as they adapt to its unique features, such as being slightly narrower than some are used to. Akshay has been continuously working on improving and flattening the underlying surface, which is paying dividends. “The pitch is playing really well, and the players are loving it,” he said.

The pitch is particularly suiting spinners and medium pacers, creating perfect cricketing conditions. “It’s benefiting both the batters and the bowlers, so it’s a fairly even contest between bat and ball,”

Akshay Chikkaveeraiah

“We wanted to bring in something new and we are really excited to play on a Flicx Pitch. We have already had reduced weather cancellations too and plan to use the pitch year-round with both our summer and winter leagues. Interest in cricket in California is really high, and people are traveling from various local cities to play in the league,” he added. With the climate changes in California a very real concern for the RPCL, the 2G Flicx Pitch future proofs cricket matches and training and gives rise to playing in other sporting venues around the city in the fullness of time.

For Akshay and his colleagues, the goal is to keep growing. They have plans to expand in future years to include divisional-based competitions and continue developing relationships with the City of Riverside to further improve the under surface. “It’s now 95% flat, and we would like to add storage for the pitch on-site, attract a bigger fan base, and develop a youth section with Sunday coaching sessions already underway,” Chikkaveeraiah explained.

The growth of cricket in Riverside is fast-paced and exciting. The new 2G Flicx Pitch has elevated standards and created a great player experience, with many in the US cricketing community already inquiring about its origins. Developed in South Africa over 25 years ago and now made 100% in the UK, Flicx is helping leagues, clubs, schools, and homes worldwide to create new places to play cricket and grow the game.

For more information about the Riverside Premier Cricket League, visit RPCL or contact Akshay Chikkaveeraiah at cakshayslp@gmail.com

For more information on the 2G Flicx Pitch or to get a quote for your club, visit Flicx or email kate@flicx.com