In 2013, DreamCricket.com launched an award for the Best Cricket Ground in U.S. as part of the New Inning sponsored USA cricket awards.

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 In 2013, DreamCricket.com launched an award for the Best Cricket Ground in U.S. as part of the New Inning sponsored USA cricket awards.

The award was named after Claude Worrell, the former president of Southern California Cricket Association, whose efforts contributed to the formation of the Woodley Cricket Complex, home to USA’s finest cricket grounds.  The 2015 New Inning Foundation Claude Worrell Best Cricket Ground award comprising a plaque is given to a league, club, or a parks department that is involved in the creation of a facility that is magnificent, well maintained and of the highest playing standard. 

The 2015 New Inning Foundation Claude Worrell Best USA Cricket Ground award goes to the Smart Choice Moosa Stadium in Pearland, TX.  The award will be given to Sakhi Muhammad and will also recognize the role of his Smart Choice Group in the creation of this magnificent facility.  

The previous winners of the award were the City of Indianapolis for the cricket complex at the World Sports Park (2014) and the City of Los Angeles - Recreation and Parks Department and the SCCA for their work with the Woodley complex (2013).   This is the first time the award is bring presented to a private initiative.  The Central Broward Regional Park (CBRP) Stadium predates the award but was named the best ground in the U.S. in 2009.  The Amwell Valley Cricket Club, another private initiative that has received praise, is one of five privately owned cricket fields that were profiled by DreamCricket in 2009 and 2010.  The Moosa Stadium is equally a product of love but stands out because of the scale and size of the project.

Mr. Muhammad wrote in August that it was the CBRP Stadium that had motivated him to build the Moosa Stadium. "I have always looked up to this (CBRP) stadium as a motivation and try to achieve something which has never been attempted on private basis."

"Our dressing rooms, outfield, square, sight screens and practice areas have already surpassed Florida. Without a doubt, the Florida Stadium is still better in a lot of areas but we will get there in few years and intend to build Moosa Stadium better than Florida. It does not matter where we are, it matters where we end. We are patient but strong in our plans, Moosa Stadium will be the "Stadium" of USA if God willing."  Mr. Muhammad sees his stadium as complement to the existing high quality venues, not as a competitor to the other turf facilities.  "More turf wickets are good for the country overall," he told ESPNcricinfo.

For over two decades, Houston has been a prominent U.S. cricketing center but the metropolis has lacked a natural turf wicket to match Woodley or Broward. Until the construction of the Moosa Stadium, despite the presence of some incredible cricketers who called Houston home, the city's grounds were not on the U.S. cricket map.  That changed when Sakhi Muhammad began implementing his vision 20 miles south of Houston in the city of Pearland.  The project has cost well over $3 million by some estimates and Mr. Muhammad has spent even more  on hosting quality teams at the venue.  In its very first year, the stadium played host to the Canadian national team for the Sushil Nadkarni International Trophy, a tribute to the Houstonian cricketer and former U.S. vice captain - Sushil Nadkarni.

The stadium has since hosted the ICC Americas Under 17 Championship and the first ever 2X Cricket Championship with a $60,000 prize purse.

[Pic Left - Artistic rendering of the finished stadium]

The ground's curator is Sam Plummer, who received DreamCricket and New Inning Foundation's Bart King Award for Lifetime Achievement in American Cricket for leaving his imprint on two top facilities for cricket in the country.  Plummer, who was CBRP’s full-time groundsman until 2013, moved to Houston to help Moosa transform into the ground it has become today.

The Moosa Stadium was named in honor of Mr. Muhammad's father, who died in an accident at age 37.  In his effort to commemorate this father, Mr. Muhammad has created an edifice for many generations of cricketers -  a truly noble gesture.

Pictures Courtesy: Smart Choice Moosa Stadium/Sakhi Muhammad/ Adeel Khan Photography.