A quick bit of trivia: what is the second most popular sport in the world that was also Canada's first official sport?
A hint? It has fine legs. The answer: Cricket. Fine leg is a fielding position on the pitch and also the inspiration for the name of West Vancouver's Fine Legs, a women's team that caters to players of all ages and skill level across the North Shore. The team is one of three in the region, which includes the Meralomas of Vancouver and the Wicket Maidens of Victoria.
North Vancouver's Patricia Truter joined the Fine Legs three years ago when a friend
invited her to participate in the sport she had watched while growing up in South Africa.
"I said no I'm too old and I've never played cricket," Truter said with a laugh. "They said to just come and try it out and I fell in love with the game. ... Everybody gets a chance to bat and everybody gets a chance to bowl, even if you're good or not good. People from all skill levels can be integrated in one team and it's a nice way to play, where you can play with very experienced players and also people who've got no background. It's a nice way to integrate with the community and do something that provides you fitness and is fun."
Players on the Fine Legs are from Commonwealth countries around the world like Australia and New Zealand, Pakistan,
India, Bangladesh and from the United Kingdom. All of the women connect over their common history of watching cricket matches back home.
Now in her 50s, Truter has been selected to participate in the 2016 Can Am United Women's Tour in Buenos Aires where she will join a team of players from across North America for a series of matches against Argentina's national team. Truter is the only one from the Fine Legs to be selected to the team and said she sees it as a great honor to be playing internationally.
The young Argentinian national team is known to have a high skill level, said Truter, "so we will have an uphill battle going there."
Awareness of the game is what Truter hopes to bring to the local audience. She
explained that women's sport often doesn't get publicized or acknowledged as much as men's sport does, which affects funding and support. Cricket Canada funds the nation's men's team but little funding is provided to the women's team. Truter said they're "basically self-funded."
The two-week tour kicks off on March 26 and while there, they will play a total of 11 games before moving on to play a nine-game series in England in August.
Practising out of Hugo Ray Park in West Vancouver, Truter and the Fine Legs will continue to train until she takes off for the big leagues. They welcome anyone interested in participating, from amateur to ace and of any age, to contact them and get involved through cricketbc.org.
