Morrisville’s cricket park hosts Sri Lanka’s team. What it means for the town.

Under the hot North Carolina sun Thursday afternoon, a dozen players practiced on the cricket field at Morrisville’s Church Street Park.

A dozen more camped out in the shade, drinking water, signing T-shirts and waiting their turn to take the field.

This week, the Sri Lankan Lions, an international men’s cricket team, occupied Church Street Park to prepare for the International Cricket Council T20 World Cup. Their arrival has excited cricket fans ready to watch the tournament.

“We wanted to come to the United States early to get accustomed to the conditions,” said Mahinda Halangode, the manager of the team. “We requested the U.S. cricket board to help us. They told us there was an option to come to Morrisville.”

The Lions are in the top seven teams in the International Cricket Council and won the World Cup in 2014. The tournament begins June 1 at locations in the United States and the Caribbean.

The goal, Halangode said, is to win again, and practicing on the Morrisville field has been a big advancement.

Morrisville’s new international reputation

Halangode said the Lions and staff have been out exploring Morrisville, and for many, the trip has affected their view of the United States.

“What I really like is the greenery here,” he said. “My perception about the U.S. was that it was a concrete jungle, but it changed after I came here. It’s a beautiful city, and you can see how well [Morrisville] was planned.”

Though the western Wake County town will not be hosting any World Cup games this year, Morrisville’s cricket field is the same size as those played in the international event.

Last summer, the town hosted the inaugural games for the Major League Cricket tournament, after previously hosting Minor League Cricket games.

Since the Lions arrived May 17, fans have gathered in the Church Street Park parking lot to watch the players during their practices, which are closed to the public.

“The response has been awesome; we were met by the Town Council,” Halangode said. “We go to so many countries, but we were never greeted by the town, the mayor, or officials. There were quite a lot of Sri Lankans who had come to greet us there.”

In the last 10 years, Morrisville has become a cricket hub. The bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players is most popular in India and Southeast Asia, where many Morrisville residents are from. Of the nearly 32,000 residents in the town, more than 40% are Asian.

Satish Garimella, mayor pro tem and cricket fan, said the team’s presence speaks volumes about Morrisville.

“For us, it is a prestige,” Garimella said. “For them coming here, practicing, making well of our facilities means a lot not just from the community and town point of view but also to all the aspiring cricketers.”

USA Cricket started eyeing Morrisville years ago when it decided to invest in areas with large fan bases. Before minor league and major league cricket games were played at Church Street Park, most young fans had only seen their favorite players on TV.

“Teams like this who come here fuel us to promote cricket and also focus Morrisville as a cricketing hub,” Garimella said. “Our pitches are the best, our staff is very good [and] we have a full-time curator and a ground support staff to run this. Most other pitch fields around the country are privately owned.”

Improvements to Church Street Park

Church Street Park was redesigned last year to accommodate thousands of fans with new amenities, bleachers and bathrooms making it eligible for a T20 Cricket World Cup.

The improvements will continue with four new grandstand bleachers, cameras and screens, Wi-Fi, more pitch lanes, practice pitches, basketball courts and a volleyball court.

The updates are expected to be completed this summer.

“You can have stadiums all across the country, but the amount of support and the liking and the passion for cricket, you would not get it anywhere else,” Garimella said. “The park is getting put to good use.”