The second-most played sport in the world has now found a new home at Richard Montgomery.
Seniors Anupa Wanigasekara and Brooklyn Mukaratirwa partnered up to host RM’s first ever Cricket Club.
“We plan on bringing South Asian students and any other students that are interested in playing together. We hope to unite all interested students,” Wanigasekara said.
According to the USA Cricket, the United States contains only 200,000 people that actively play the sport. This accounts for less than 0.1 percent of the nation’s population. The Major League Cricket is the country’s only league that accounts for six teams united under the major corporation.
As popular as soccer in South American countries, Asian countries hold their very own Cricket Cup crowning the winners with the title of “the champions of Asia.” In 2023, Sri Lanka held the event and India won its seventh title.
An even larger tournament is the ICC Cricket World Cup which is equivalent to the World Cup. The event occurs every four years and hosts only 10 teams. England currently holds the title for the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup.
“Cricket is the second most popular sport but within America, it’s kind of undervalued…I’m from Zimbabwe and Anupa’s from Sri Lanka. It was a culture shock to us both to see that cricket is so undervalued within America,” Mukaratirwa said.
Viewing the world as a whole, over 2.7 billion people hold membership in varying leagues and tournaments, with 30 percent representing South Asian heritage.
To score a point in a cricket match, the batsman has to hit the ball and run to the opposite side of the pitch while his teammate has to run from the opposite side as well.
A cricket ball has a core made of cork and a leather cover that is stitched on. Compared to a ball used in baseball, the cricket ball is much smaller and heavier creating a harder game for cricket players.
At a baseball game, a typical setup would be pitchers on the field while at a cricket match, the fielders would be on the pitch. Additionally, if a ball is hit out of boundary in cricket, the team earns six additional runs while a baseball team would receive an outing if that happened.
A cricket team consists of 11 players and a game hosts two teams that take turns batting and playing the field. Compared to baseball positions, a batter is a batsman and a pitcher is a bowler. The bowler tries to propel the ball towards the wicket and knock it down. The batsman prevents the ball from hitting the wicket by hitting it and scoring runs.
To win a match, a team that is batting first has to obtain more runs or more wickets if it bats second. A score of 100/3 indicates a team had 100 runs and lost three wickets.
“The game is not as complicated as it seems and should not take too long for members to learn the basics,” Wanigasekara said.
RM’s Cricket Club plans to meet every other Friday and may alter this schedule if membership increases.
In the future, members will hopefully have the ability to go on the grass during lunch and play cricket together.
“Come to the meeting and come to the games. As many people we get the better since we can then actually create teams and learn the techniques together as a group,” Mukaratirwa said.
Playing cricket during lunch can relieve stress and allow students to have fun with their friends. All are welcomed to join and any experienced players are highly encouraged to attend meetings and possibly lead presentations in the future.
“Even after we leave for college, we hope to continue the legacy of our club and bring in more students. Cricket can become more and more prominent in our end and maybe become a class,” Wanigasekara said.
