Commonwealth Cricket League (CCL), New York Joins ACF

The American Cricket Federation would like to welcome its newest member, the Commonwealth Cricket League (CCL). Based in New York’s Van Cortlandt Park, CCL is the city’s largest with 2,000 players on 72 teams. Lesly Lowe is the league’s longtime president.

The league traces its roots back to the Commonwealth Cricket Club, which started playing in 1971 in the New York Cricket League, with later stints in the American Cricket League and the Eastern American Cricket Association.

In 1982 an application was made for a permit for the ‘Stables’ field and after much wrangling with the local Community Board and also the Parks Department, its first permit for a cricket field in New York City was granted.

CCL began its first season with six teams and one ground. Later, a team from another league that had played at Whitestone Park decided that they no longer wanted the field there, which was snatched up as “Pitch #2.” Then, a second pitch was laid at Whitestone and also at the Stables.

The Commonwealth Cricket League was on its way. During the 1990s, CCL made it to the Inter-League final 8 times. In the late 1990s, the New York Cricket Region introduced an Under-25 competition. The CCL team, captained by future USA captain Steve Massiah and coached by Tyrone Etwaroo and Kim Vieira, did not lose a single game in all four years that the tournament lasted.

Today, the CCL is one of the most diverse in the country, with more than 20 Pakistani teams plus teams from Guyana, India, Sri Lanka, Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad.

“It is with great excitement and anticipation that Commonwealth Cricket League joins ACF,” said CCL president Lowe. “The ACF represents the future of cricket in America, and we are happy to be a part of that future.”

ACF CEO Jamie Harrison said, “We’re delighted to have a league as vibrant and prestigious as Commonwealth joining our ranks. This addition not only gives us a strong presence in the New York area, but also brings us thousands of cricketers closer to the ultimate ACF cause of uniting the game in America.”