Are you one among many people passing by the Drill Field watching some folks playing baseball in a very strange fashion? You might have wondered, “What sort of baseball is this?” Well if you don’t already know, the game you probably watched is cricket.
Cricket is a sport that is played in over 60 countries, most of which are British Commonwealth nations. It has a fan base of over one billion people, matched only by soccer.
The United States is emerging as a strong cricketing nation, which is evident from the fact that the United States won the Americas Championship held in Argentina during March 2002 and included teams from Canada and Argentina, among others.
So what is the biggest difference that sets baseball and cricket apart? Cricket is a varied game that provides options to the players.
Imagine the fun you would have as a hitter if you were allowed to hit in any direction you wanted to hit with a flat bat–I bet you would be thinking of making life very difficult for pitchers.
But what if you were a pitcher and allowed to pitch the ball in the air or on the ground? That would add bounce to the swing of your pitch. Well life, after all, does not seem so bad for the pitchers now, does it?
As a runner, wouldn’t you enjoy the option of running at your own discretion and not every time the ball is hit.
Surely, by now some of you might be eager to try your hand at this game, and now you have a chance.
The recently formed MSU Cricket Club is plans to organize a special cricket clinic on Thursday, April 10, on the Drill Field from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. In addition, the club will organize an introductory session on Saturday, April 5, at the International Fiesta, where some of the cricketing equipment will be displayed. The club also plans to hold intramural tournaments and home and away series with other universities.
The university’s landscape department will prepare a pitch (playing field) for the MSUCC on the old intramural ground.
As a matter of interest, MSUCC recently won a home series against University of Alabama at Huntsville. The club also organized an intramural tournament in spring in which over 50 players from six different teams participated.
If you play baseball or cricket, chances are you would enjoy the variations provided by the other game. I know cricket pretty well and am certainly looking forward to try my hand at baseball sometime soon.
If you are interested in knowing more about cricket at MSU, watch for MSUCC at Fiesta 2003.