I am a Quebecois who has played softball. I heard about cricket after England won the Ashes. I am interested in learning more about the sport, but I have never played before. Can you help?
If we have to drive around to your house to pick you up, we will. Most of our players are Canadian. We will teach you everything you want to know about the game. This club will become your greatest obsession, and in time, you will dream of cricket on a nightly basis. Are you available this weekend?

I am an amazing cricket player who bowls fast, opens the batting, and plays first-class cricket in Pakistan. I would like to play professionally for your team. Can you get me a visa and pay for my flight?
Thank you for your interest. It’s funny, we had a letter just like this last week. Unfortunately, we are not in a position to hire professionals. We are a social cricket team, playing friendly matches for the love of the game. Most of our players are beginners, or those who never thought they’d play again. Almost all are scrapping around for meaningful employment themselves. We appreciate your inquiry. Please do keep reading the Pirates match reports. It’s great to hear we have a fan club in Pakistan.

I have been searching for cricket in Montreal for ages and this website is all I could find. Is there much cricket in the city?
We know, it’s amazing. We can’t understand why other clubs don’t have websites. There are actually around 50 cricket teams in Montreal in two rival leagues. We are the biggest cricket club in Quebec, but don’t play league cricket. Instead, we play friendly matches each summer weekend against other social cricket teams from across North America and beyond, and indoor cricket all winter. Since our inception, one or two other part-time social cricket clubs have sprung up.

Are you really the fastest growing cricket club in North America? How are you doing this?
Yes. Since May 2007, we have welcomed more than 500 players, have a solid membership of over 60, and have introduced the game to more than 4,000 school children. The transitory nature of employment in Montreal means many of our expat players are only here short-term. However, we continue to find new players every week; in bars, on the street, in saunas, online. We’re probably looking at your Facebook profile right now. We know about you before you know about us. The reasons we’ve grown so quickly are:
– We make cricket visible (online, in the media, through word of mouth, practising in public areas).
– We make cricket accessible (for all levels, genders, ages, nationalities, incomes and timetables).
– We make cricket fun (for players and supporters).

That sounds brilliant. How much does it cost to join?
Reflecting the impoverished nature of our members, we operate on a pay-as-you-go, cheap-as-chips scheme. Indoor cricket, from February to April, is only 5$ a session (for two to three hours of cricketing ecstasy), and even cheaper if you sign up for the full 9 weeks. Summer cricket, from April to October, is only 30$ for full membership, or 15$ for social and junior membership, plus 10$ match fee per game, which includes a bbq lunch prepared by our chefs. All equipment is provided free of charge.

I am a girl who would like to play cricket. Do you have any other women in your club?
Yes. In fact, we have the only women’s cricket in Quebec and the captain of the Canadian women’s team. So if you come play for us, that pretty much means you’re playing for the province.

Have any of your players played at a high level of cricket?
To date, we’ve had 12 international players, and more district representatives. Some of our players have represented Poland, Canada, Estonia, Denmark, France, United States, Sri Lanka Women, Kenya Women, and St Vincent Women.

I love to bowl bouncers and play as competatively as I can every week. I would like to join your club because I hear it has the best ground in Quebec. However, I don’t think the girls should be playing and you need to stop drinking beer and take training more seriously. At practice, I need to bowl more than everyone else and, if I turn up late, I should still be batting in the top three.
Then this is not the club for you, but we can happily put you in touch with some others.