Four cricket groups approached the parks and recreation department in January, requesting the city provide them with a cricket field. The city turned down two of the groups because none of the city's parks are designed for adult cricket games. A cricket field is an elliptical area of grass, with a 190-foot radius and a pitch in the center.

The two remaining groups—the Tennisball Cricket Association and the California Cricket Academy—talked with the city about the same time, trying to organize the city's first cricket youth league.

Founder of the California Cricket Association, Hemant Buch, said his organization plays cricket in its purest form. "We don't use a tennis ball. That is not international standard," Buch, 40, said. "We have a professional coach but the other group has the parents teach the game."

Organizer of the Tennisball Cricket Association, Parag Kulkarni, said his group is an official nonprofit organization that now boasts 80 teams. "The balls we use are harder than tennis balls but softer than cricket balls so it is safer for children to play," Kulkarni, 37, said. "Although we play according to the same rules of cricket, we don't need a special field, equipment or gloves, which makes the game more affordable and easier to adopt to different fields."

Having heard strong arguments from both sides, the city came up with a creative solution. The parks and recreation department will help Buch organize Cupertino's first cricket youth league. The city has already built a practice pitch for the academy in the field in front of the library. The group's 70 students will have their first cricket practice on the field on April 17.

The parks and recreation staff will consider contracting the Tennisball Cricket Association to organize a one-week summer youth camp.

"We don't want to get into the argument of which organization is better. The CCA approached us first and Mr. Buch lives in Cupertino," said recreation coordinator Mike Bookspun. "At the beginning stage, it is not necessary to have two leagues at the same time."

Parks and recreation director Therese Smith said the youth league is a pilot program. "The city will assess it during and after this year and consider whether to continue it based on field impact, community involvement and neighbors' response," Smith said.

The competition among these different cricket groups for the city's resources results from the rapid growth of the city's Indian population.

"One out of 11 Cupertino residents is Indian," said Councilman Richard Lowenthal. He was instrumental in helping Buch establish the city's first cricket youth team. "It is very important for us to represent the Indian community."

To make room for the twice-a-week cricket practice, a local soccer team will use other fields instead of the library field on Monday and Saturday. "We are trying to accommodate everybody's needs here," Bookspun said.

Buch said although cricket is not popular in the United States, cricket is one of the most popular sports in the world with a huge following in England, India, Pakistan, Australia, the West Indies, Sri Lanka and New Zealand.

"Cricket is an action-packed game and you don't need to be big to play it," Buch said. "With the new pitch, I hope I can take the Cupertino's first cricket youth league to the World Cup in 2009."

Call Hemant Buch at 409.777.9983 or visit www.calcricket.org for more information about the California Cricket Academy. Visit the Tennisball Cricket Association's website at www.tennisballcricket.org for more information.