Cricket is a sport that inspires fervent devotion in audiences all over the world. However, much like soccer, cricket has not yet made dramatic ripples throughout the United States. In fact, many Americans are not even aware of what it is. One club on campus is doing its part to build awareness of the sport.

The Student Cricket Association of Sacramento State, founded by club President Akshat Srivastava and Treasurer Umer Shaikh, came into existence in February 2006. It is not the first cricket club the campus has had. Previous clubs, which existed in 1998 and 2002, have since dissolved. It is only the third university cricket club in Northern California, after UC Berkeley and Stanford University.

The club’s chief goals are to bring together those who love to play cricket and those who wish to learn about it.

For those completely in the dark on all things cricket, here is a brief overview. Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams, each consisting of 11 players. It is played on a grass field that is elliptical in shape. In the center of the field is a hard, flat strip of land called the pitch, which is traditionally 65 feet long and 8 feet wide.

At each end of the pitch is a wooden structure called a wicket. A player from the fielding team, known as the bowler, throws a hard leather ball, roughly the size of a fist, from one wicket toward the other. The ball will usually bounce once before it reaches the batsman, the player from the opposing team who seeks to defend the wicket from the ball with a wooden bat. Another batsman, this one called the non-striker, stands in an inactive role near the bowler’s wicket.

Should the batsman hit the ball, he or she may run to the other wicket and switch places with the non-striker, which would score a run for his or her team. The batting team’s objective is to score as many runs as it can, while the bowling team gathers the ball and returns it to either wicket. If the ball hits a wicket while the nearest batsman is running, the batsman is out and is replaced by the next batsman on the team. At the end of the match, the team that has scored the most runs is the winner.

Talking with Srivastava about cricket, one instantly notices the immense exuberance he has for the game. As he set up his laptop to stream live coverage of the Cricket World Cup, he used the game as a reference point for discussion and followed it as a fan. A lifelong player of the game, Srivastava’s enthusiasm for it is almost infectious.

The club has 40 members, all but a small handful of whom are Sac State students, Srivastava said. He said commitment is often an issue among the players, as many of them are students whose studies often take precedence over cricket practice.

Another issue the club must contend with is the location of its biweekly practice sessions. Most sessions are held in the soccer fields behind Yosemite Hall, but they are often preempted by soccer or rugby practice sessions held in the same area, or even by people picnicking on the grass. This often forces the club to relocate its sessions to places like the fields behind Tahoe Hall, or even off-campus at public parks.

But even on the weeks where the club faces no interference in its access to the soccer fields, the fact remains that these grounds are not particularly conducive to cricket, which requires an area with either short grass or no grass at all. The club would ideally prefer for the school to provide an area where a proper pitch could be constructed, but would settle for access to the baseball fields, which have cricket-friendly grass. However, the Recreational Sports program has denied the club use of the baseball fields. And because the club lacks an official home ground, it is unable to host matches with its opponents on campus – a fact that frustrates Srivastava.

“Why should we have to drive to the Bay Area or Davis to play all the time?” Srivastava asked. “Why can’t we invite (other teams) to Sac State?”

Srivastava feels that the campus could directly benefit by offering a home ground for cricket matches. “Cricket is an international sport,” Srivastava said. “By providing a cricket facility, or just an area in the soccer field with the 8-by-65 foot trimmed-grass area, it would encourage more international students to not only visit Sac State, but also perhaps study here.”

Despite these hurdles, the club has found some support on campus. Ted Krovetz, assistant professor of computer science, has become the club’s faculty adviser and was instrumental to the SCA becoming an official club. Krovetz personally visits many of the club’s matches, and brought his entire family to its November 18 match against UC Davis.

One aspect of the SCA that Srivastava is very proud of is the club’s diversity. A variety of ethnicities are represented by the members. Srivastava himself is Indian and Assad Malik, the SCA’s event coordinator and co-founder, is Pakistani. Ryland Wheeler, who joined the club last year, is Caucasian. Srivastava said this is unique among cricket clubs, and cites a Folsom team made up entirely of players of Indian descent as a example. He believes that the club is symbolic of cricket itself.

“Cricket brings countries together,” Srivastava said. “And it brings members from different countries together.”

One of the SCA’s goals is to increase awareness of the sport and the club itself in the near future. Srivastava is the web master of the club’s website – www.csus.edu/org/sca_csus – and plans on adding a new layout along with pictures, match times and information about the club’s history, officers and the game of cricket. He encourages people to visit the page and sign up to become part of the club’s Yahoo! group.

“If people don’t know anything about cricket, they can still join and learn about it,” Shaikh said.

Even if members are not able to fully grasp the mechanics of the game, that does not necessarily mean they will not be able to enjoy themselves.

“I’m still unclear on the rules, but it’s fun,” new member Austin August said.

The club plays the majority of its games against UC Davis. The club wishes to play other schools as well, but its lack of a home ground is a problem, as is the fact that the SCA is not presently a member of a league. The group is attempting to join the Sacramento Cricket Association to resolve this.

The club’s next game against Davis is April 15. The SCA has developed a strong rivalry with its counterpart across the Causeway.

“They got us last time,” Malik said. “This time will be different.” Brandon Wolfe can be reached [email protected]