Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
The Edmonton & District Cricket League (EDCL) was founded in 1901 as the Edmonton Cricket League in order to organize the various cricket organizations competing for field space within the City. The name was changed to include the Edmonton district in 1976 to encompass the communities the sport had spread to since the League’s original inception.
The Hudson’s Bay Company Flats, situated in the City’s river valley and now known as Victoria Park, were the first fields on which the EDCL held matches. By the 1930s, Edmonton had played host to competitions that saw Australian and British teams as participants. In addition to Victoria Park, matches are held across the City, including Mill Woods, Castledowns, and outside the City such as in Red Deer and St. Albert.
Although the general popularity of cricket began to decline as hockey and football took prominence, a surge of migration from South Asia, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and other former colonies of the British Empire beginning in the 1950s has kept the EDCL active and growing throughout the 20th century.
The EDCL is a member of the Alberta Cricket Association, which is in turn part of Cricket Canada. As a result, several members of the EDCL have participated in matches on the international level.