Smack of willow on leather is one of the sweetest sounds during summer for cricket lovers in the U.S.
Last month, many New Yorkers heard that thunk to their delight as high school students from New York, a majority of them South Asians, played the game during the New York Mayor’s Cup Cricket All-Star Game.
In the sprawling cricket field in Van Cortland Park in Riverdale June 20, high school students from five boroughs grouped in two teams – one from Queens, and another from Brooklyn, the Bronx and Manhattan – played the daylong game showing their cricketing prowess. Spectators, including those not familiar with cricket, watched the match with interest.
Besides friends and folks of the players, there were a few hundred spectators, including those who were passing by the field and spent time watching it. An unexpected rain pushed back the match’s start time and made the pitch very slippery for both the batsmen and the defense.
But that did not seem to matter much for the players.
The BBM team won the toss and decided to allow the Queens team to take first knock. The Queens team sent up the partnership of Shafat Choudhury (Newcomers High School) and their captain Amran Ahmed (John Adams High School). Burhan Saeed (Midwood High School) was the first bowler for BBM and he got off to a rough start, which included three wides and a double by Amran Ahmed.
After one over, the Queens team led by a score of five runs for zero wickets taken. In the second over the wickets started to fall for the BBM team. They picked up their first as Ahmed knocked a single out into the field, which was well defended by the BBM team, and his partner Shafat Choudhury was run out on the ensuing play. Their partnership came to an end after just seven runs and one wicket taken. Harpreet Rahull (Queens High School of Teaching) came in to replace Choudhury at bat, but his luck would not be much better thanks to some great bowling by BBM.
The BBM team played well helping them win the Best in the City title with a score of 62-63 after 7.2 overs.
The honor went to the team after five years. This was a record as Queens, where many people from cricketing nations such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Caribbean live, have held their winning streak for many years.
The 2015 NYC Mayor’s Cup Cricket All-Star Game showcased top high school cricketers from the Public Schools Athletic League competing for the title of “Best in the City”.
Besides Public Schools Athletic League, PSAL, cricket players, a number of other cricket leagues are also played in the city, especially in Queens where both adults and teenagers take part.
“We have found that cricket is one of the fastest growing sports in NYC and there is a large population that follows it. There are a good number of adult leagues. What we are trying to do is to promote this sport and showcase them to demonstrate how great the high school athletes are,” Jeff Mohi, vice president of Sports Marketing at NYC and Company that organizes the event annually, told Desi Talk.
According to him NYC is the only city in the country that has a high school cricket league.
One of the reasons for starting the Mayor’s Cup Mohi said, is that there is the realization on the part of the City that cricket players were not getting enough recognition.
“There are basketball players, baseball players, and players in all traditional American sports but then the best cricket players deserve the same kind of recognition and encouragement. Like the baseball players, we need to create a platform for cricket in the city. For us, it made sense that we popularize cricket,” Mohi said in a brief interview.
Twenty best cricket players from each of the boroughs are selected every year for the All Star Game. The Cricket Commissioner of PSAL and some of his colleagues select 15 best players for each team.
Asked if the popularity of the game had gone up since it was started six years ago, Mohi contended it had. “Let me give you an example. During last week’s match, it was not just the South Asians, the friends and parents of the player that were there, but lot of people from other communities who have no idea about cricket came and stood on the fence to watch the game. Even there were people who came primarily to watch golf in the golf course nearby, came and watched cricket, and they enjoyed the sport,” Mohi said.
“I think it is really raising exposure and interest in the sport,” Mohi said and expressed the hope it would spread beyond just cricket lovers.
The Mayor’s Cup, now in its sixth year, was played for the third consecutive year in Van Cortland Park. The earlier ones were played in Brooklyn
The post N.Y.C. Mayor’s Cricket Cup Sparks Popular Interest In The Sport appeared first on News India Times.