MADURAI: As Madurai's urban growth pushes into its outskirts, open grounds in Pokkuvarathu Nagar are emerging as weekend sporting hubs, drawing cricket enthusiasts while giving a fillip to small businesses in the neighbourhood.
Every Saturday and Sunday, children, college students, IT employees and retired residents converge on these grounds with bats, tennis balls and plenty of enthusiasm. What began as casual weekend cricket has quietly evolved into a community ritual, bringing players from across the city and turning otherwise quiet stretches into bustling activity.
"Pokkuvarathu Nagar sees nearly 50 to 100 teams playing cricket every Sunday. Similarly, areas such as Valar Nagar and Alagarkoil Road have become hotspots for professional cricket matches. Players of all age travel several kilometres from different parts of the city to play a single match," said C Mohan, a regular weekend player from the Jaihindpuram area.
According to him, the lack of playgrounds within city limits has forced cricket enthusiasts to travel to the outskirts in search of playing space.
"For people working six days a week, this is our reset button. We spend a few hours outdoors instead of staring at screens," said Parthiban, an IT professional who travels across the city every weekend to play.
The cricket boom has also created an unexpected weekend economy. Juice vendors and eateries along the approach roads report brisk business whenever matches are underway. Some mobile vendors move from one pitch to another, selling refreshments to players and spectators.
"On weekdays, I do other work. On weekends, I fill my ice box with refreshments and travel between cricket pitches. I would sometimes cover nearly 100 km through the day. Considering the number of teams here, the business gives us decent earnings," said R Raja, a mobile juice vendor.
"As the city grows, playgrounds are disappearing from neighbourhoods. These open grounds give children and adults a place to meet without needing a membership or paying a fee," said Mahendran, a city-based activist and cricketer.
However, players fear the grounds may not remain available for long. With the proposed airport runway extension and the consequent highway diversion expected to accelerate development in the area, landowners have begun marking vacant plots with boundary stones, apparently signalling plans for residential construction.
As more open spaces disappear, cricketers are already beginning to travel farther from the city in search of grounds where their weekend games can continue.