The ball came flying. The batter, in crisp game whites, slammed it into the ground, then bounded across a clay strip and back again, bat still in hand. His teammates cheered. And there was not a stray soccer ball or an invading rugby player in sight.

Cricket was finally getting some respect in the Bronx.

The borough of the Yankees has become a mecca for the British bat sport favored by many of New York City’s West Indian and South Asian immigrants and their children. On Sunday, more than 100 cricket players joined diplomats from countries including Jamaica and Britain to break in 10 new cricket fields in Van Cortlandt Park that city officials say make up the largest site in the United States for the sport.

“When you see fields like this, you want to play,” said Dolip Dhanpat, 40, a delivery driver who was waiting with his team to take a turn. “It’s a blessing.”

The new cricket complex, designed as part of a $13 million renovation of a wide, grassy expanse of Van Cortlandt Park once used as a parade ground, reflects the growing diversity of New Yorkers and their pastimes. About 10 percent of the city’ 8.2 million residents are of South Asian or West Indian descent, including a fast-expanding Bangladeshi population in the Bronx, according to an analysis of census data by Queens College.