The Western New York region, which houses strong national and cultural history, home to Niagara Falls

one of nature’s many wonders, had cricket as its primary sport in the early 1900s. An up-and-coming,

region that is filled with prestigious universities and artistic tranquility. A hop-skip and jump away from

Canada, Western New York mainly comprises the Buffalo-Niagara region and Rochester. It is

astonishing to discover that the world’s first international cricket match was played, not very far from

where are today.

Established in 2015, WNYCL is the product of joint efforts from 4 main individual clubs, Buffalo Niagara

Cricket Club (BNCC), Buffalo Cricket Club (BCC formerly known as UBCC University of Buffalo Cricket

Club), Rochester Cricket Club (RCC), and Lockport Cricket Club (LCC), who initiated leather-ball cricket for

the first time in the form of T35(played in whites) and T20 (played in colors). These tournaments were

held locally and had a participation of mere 8 teams.

In less than a decade, despite a global pandemic, WNYCL managed to grow from an 8 local team

tournament to a league that now has almost 25 teams participating from Syracuse, Erie PA, and Cornell.

Our growth can be witnessed from teams playing on 2 grounds to now having 6 grounds in the region.

While short, the summers witness fierce and passionate cricket being played on these grounds

throughout the week. Some players who reignited their cricketing passion through WNYCL have moved

on to the big stage at the national level.

Besides playing cricket, WNYCL believes in community involvement. We have done demonstrations for

local NPOs and encouraged community education through local representatives. There have been attempts

to get cricket included in a school sporting curriculum. Through sports, we seek to create bonds of

friendship and experience companionship that lasts for a lifetime