SAN DIEGO (KGTV) -- Most people probably know very little about the sport of cricket. In fact, most people probably don't realize from a participation standpoint, it happens to be the second most popular sport in the world next to soccer.
Now the sport is starting to take off in San Diego.
"As a well-known sport among Americans, not so much, but there has been some huge investment in the United States the last year or two actually, " says Marty Kain, a local cricket player.
The game is a bat and ball sport played between two teams of eleven players. The winner of the game being the team that scores the most runs. So it does have some similarities to baseball.
"There is a batter with a wooden bat has a flat face on one side, which you try to hit with. You can hit the ball 360 degrees around the field, not just in front of you on a diamond like in baseball. In the simplest way, it's a batter trying to hit the ball and the bowler trying to get the batter out."
In an effort to grow the sport in the United States, Minor League Cricket is a new league in its inaugural season. The league is comprised of 27 teams including the San Diego Surf Riders.
"There are plenty of cricketers from San Diego that are good cricketers," says Kain, who is a member of the Surf Riders. "What other teams have done is to bring in one or two players from overseas, which we haven't. We've had a bit of a tough season but we've learned a lot, and certainly had a good time. Its just been great to travel around the country and play against other teams."
Minor League Cricket is in the ground stages with the hope of growing the sport even larger in the U.S., in the next few years.
"It's a very new project that took a lot of investment from some big companies to set this up. They have a vision to grow the game pretty large here."
