Cricket craze hits campus
Students embrace spirit of international competition

In a fine stroke of luck, a health, fitness and sport class has become a form of international study in familiar Springfield, Ohio.
For the first time this year, Wittenberg offered a cricket class.

“It’s a game that brings nations together,” said Sajjad Mamdani, ’01, of Tanzania. He has proof. Wittenberg’s first full cricket team, fielded this fall, boasts players from eight nations.

But Wittenberg is unique in that sports diplomacy, as all of the other teams in the region consist of players from just India and Pakistan, Mamdani said.

The Tiger cricketeers call the game England’s gift to the world. It is today popular in 41 nations, including all former British colonies, except the United States.

A grandfather of baseball, the game requires a flat bat, a pitcher, called a bowler, and baselines, called creases. The batters, or batsmen, can hit the ball in any direction. The center of the field is called a pitch, and it contains two wickets.

Fielders get batsmen out by knocking a wooden bail off the wickets. Such complexity is what appealed to Mark Fajgenbaum, ’01, of Trinidad and Tobago.

He said cricket is affectionately known as a sport of “glorious uncertainties,” a game of twists and turns where subtle shifts in advantage make it more like chess to those who love it.

At home in the West Indies, a cricket match takes five days, Fajgenbaum said. At his level teams compete for only three days, and after all of that, good matches often end in a tie.

That may explain why the sport has not attracted American players or audiences, he said. At Wittenberg, games last a day — eight hours on the field trying to maintain the mental and physical agility needed to win.

Team captain Mamdani said the game is special because it is a consummate team sport, a social event known world wide as a “gentleman’s” game. Shaun Cline, ’01, of Springfield likes it.

“I was interested because it was something different, something new, and I like to try new things.” But Chicagoan Prashanth Bala, ’02, acquired his love of the game from his family, which emigrated from India.

They enjoyed family cricket games on picnics. “I was kind of amazed that a school this size would have a cricket team.” That was one factor in the freshman’s decision to attend Wittenberg this year.

Faculty adviser Steve Dawson, the Tigers’ English head soccer coach, wanted to start a cricket team before now, but he could find only a few interested players. It takes 11 players to compete.

Last year students produced bylaws and a constitution for their club team. They were also accepted and funded by the university athletic committee to purchase equipment and jerseys.

This year Dawson could finally field a full complement of players. Dawson said the first-time class attracted a mix of students with, and without, a baseball background.“The class seemed to adapt to the game pretty well,” he said.

“The hand-eye coordination needed for cricket is not that foreign to American students.” Student Senate appropriated extra money for travel, and Tiger Cricket played its first games against Wooster, Ohio Wesleyan and a Dayton area club team.

But the Tiger team remained winless this fall. As the newcomer, Wittenberg faces well-established teams against which they did well just to keep the games close. Mamdani seemed satisfied with the progress of his team because it was competitive.

He said the team will begin its season in earnest this spring, and he hopes that the team can host a round robin tournament next fall. Mamdani is also optimistic that the sport will continue to attract more students.

The cricket class has already been successful in creating an appreciation for the game by helping to provide a knowledgeable fan base for home games.

—JD