Secunderabad Parade Ground Back to Lift With Local Cricket Matches

HYDERABAD: Local league cricketers in the city love the Parade Grounds in Secunderabad,for its vast expanses where many people can play at the same time. The grounds especially on weekends becomes like a festival atmosphere with both the youngsters and children coming to play there. However, the Parade Grounds were lying vacant for the past three years since the Hyderabad Cricket Association was unable to hold cricket matches. After receiving approval from Army officials, the parade ground came alive again on Saturday with six one-day league matches. By next week, the HCA intends to increase the number of matches at this location from six to 10.

According to former secretary of state PR Man Singh, "It started with three teams — Ethiraj, Azad CC and Rising Stars — playing in 1959. By the late 70s, five more teams began playing on this ground. The ground was freely used by the general public and people even learnt to drive here. However, the Army put some restrictions and only cricket matches were allowed to be played with HCA providing mats for the matches, " he said.

Noshir Mehta, a veteran cricketer, described Parade Grounds as a beehive of activity. "On Saturday and Sunday, the cricketers would swarm the field. Playing on matting wickets is always different since there is bounce for the bowlers and a batsman may enhance his backfoot play, albeit the uneven ground is challenging for the fielders. Overall, it's a great starting point for a young cricketer, " he added.