MORRISVILLE N.C. — You might not think an Asain food market would be home to one of the best cricket equipment stores in North Carolina.
An aisle sandwiched between frozen meals and snacks is Mohammad Anwar’s cricket store supply.
“Usually they say your customer is your teacher,” Anwar said. “They told me, ‘We need this. We need that. Go get this.’ So I kept on getting stuff.”
Markhor Sports quickly became the go-to cricket shop in the area.
Anwar says for years it was the only place in the Triangle that you could buy a cricket bat and get it knocked at the same time. Knocking is the process of compressing the wood to strengthen it.
His premium service doesn’t carry the hefty price tag cricket lovers might expect.
“Some people do 10,000 knocking, and if you want extra, they charge you extra,” Anwar said. “But I don’t. I like to support these people.”
Over the last decade his supply has grown.
The main reason is because the sport has grown, including here in North Carolina.
When Anwar heard that Morrisville was hosting the Major League Cricket games, he was surprised.
“You’re having cricket in the country where you used to have football or tennis. Nobody knew about cricket,” Anwar said. “Cricket started in India, Pakistan, England. Now it’s coming here. In other states they’re starting to build stadiums for cricket.”
With the tournament matches this weekend, Anwar hopes the intrigue in the sport brings more foot traffic into his shop.
“They come and check it out, I’ll give them a special discount,” Anwar said. “I try to give them what they’re looking for. I try to give them good stuff according to the budget they gave.”
The tournament round runs until Tuesday at Church Street Park in Morrisville.