USI has a new club sport, cricket. Cricket? Cricket. It's not polo, lacrosse, curling, croquet, lawn darts, French bouls, field hockey, rounders, beekeeping or forcing helpless crickets (phylum arthropod, order Orthoptera) into racing around inside a cardboard box. Not to insult the reader's intelligence, but the previous were answers by students when asked if they knew what the sport of cricket was.
Cricket, the grandfather of baseball, is the second most popular sport in the world, played in over 130 countries. It has a rich, yet unknown history in the United States. Cricket is America's first bat and ball sport and was played as early as 1700 in coastal Virginia. U.S. cricket also played an important role in developing international
sporting competitions.
The first team competition between nations was the 1859 cricket match between the United States and Canada.
There are two major forms of the game, the Test and Limited Over (ODI) match.
Test cricket is considered to be the highest form of the game. In it two teams play two innings each, and the game lasts 4 to 5 days. In 1963 the Limited Over match was introduced whereby two teams play one inning with a limit on the number of balls bowled (pitched).
Most cricket played worldwide is in the limited over format, with colored uniforms and noisy crowds. It lasts as long as an average baseball game.
The USI Cricket Club is open to male and female students, faculty, and staff of USI.
Most club members are beginners and everyone is welcome to join. Individuals with prior experience in softball or baseball will find cricket to be similar in techniques and strategies.
Upcoming events include indoor cricket at the PAC, a cricket tutorial session at Hebron Elementary School on March 8-9, and a trip for club members to play with the Nashville Occasional's Cricket Club in Nashville, Tenn., in April and May.
The club recently requested books for the Rice Library, and the following titles are now available: The Tented Field: A History of Cricket in America (Tom Melville); Playing Hard Ball: A Kent County Cricketer's Journey into Big League Baseball (E.T. Smith); Cricket Explained (Robert Eastaway) and a DVD video from the 2003 World Cup (ODI match) India VS. Pakistan.
For more information about the clubs visit http://usicricket.tripod.com
To learn how to join the USICC contact:
usicricket@yahoo.com.
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