The Westmount Examiner
August 6, 2009
Cricket: Alive and Well in the City
Robert Wilkins

Few people are aware that the sport of cricket was once a major diversion in 19th-century Montreal. In fact, at the time, the expansive Ste. Catherine Street Cricket Grounds encircled the Church of St. James the Apostle on Bishop Street. From Sherbrooke to Ste. Catherine, Mackay to Mountain, this Victorian quadrangle accommodated cricket and lacrosse enthusiasts from all over.

With the rapid commercial development of Ste. Catherine Street in the early 20th century, the sports field quietly disappeared from the local landscape. By 1907, it was no longer found in atlases of the city. Its historic influence, however, was felt for many years as the Bishop Street Anglican church was for long afterwards affectionately known as St. Cricket’s in the Field. Indeed, a steel grill protecting a stained glass ecclesiastic window from possible wayward cricket balls was only removed in September 2003 — and with it went much of the story of cricket in Montreal.

Well not quite!

Pirates of the St Lawrence Cricket Club was formed in Montreal…

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