The Stickey Wicket on East 16th Street

The objective of each team is to score more runs than the other team and to completely dismiss the other team. In one form of cricket, winning the game is achieved by scoring the most runs, even if the opposition has not been completely dismissed. In another form, it is necessary to score the most runs and dismiss the opposition in order to win the match, which would otherwise be drawn.  A cricket match is played between two teams (or sides) of eleven players each on a field of variable size and shape. The ground is grassy and is prepared by groundsmen whose jobs include fertilising, mowing, rolling and levelling the surface. Field diameters of 137–150 metres (150–160 yd) are usual.The perimeter of the field is known as the boundary and this is sometimes painted and sometimes marked by a rope that encircles the outer edge of the field. The Laws of Cricket do not specify the size or shape of the field but it is often oval – one of cricket's most famous venues is called The Oval.

On East 16th Street in Flatbush, a few young boys are playing cricket in the street, watched over by a dad. Pure Brooklyn, the kids, West Indian, South Asian and white, take turns wielding the cricket bat with great seriousness, laughing with glee as they get the occasional hit. No doubt the asphalt streets provide a stickier  wicket than a wet and drying pitch, which makes the ball'spin and bounce sharp and unpredictable. But it is a school day afternoon and the Flatbush street is far from the weekend cricket games played at Prospect Park, or Staten Island's New Dorp near Miller Field (which was a keystone to Joseph O'Neill's wonderful novel, Netherland). Here you can imagine the game that may have been played  in British 18th century New York. Now, played again widely in the city, taught by immigrant kids to their friends,not just a weekend team sport with crisp and gleaming white uniforms on the fields of Prospect Park, but now, also a street game and urban sport, evolving on the streets of Brooklyn.