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Cricket team brings British sport to CSUF
ZARINA ZUMBRO
1 STAFP WRTTER ,J
The batter wipes the sweat off
his forehead, positions the bat at
his feet and furrows his brow in
concentration as he waits for the
pitcher to throw the red ball.
Sounds a bit like baseball, but
the game is cricket: a slow moving, rule-bound game popular in
Australia, England, India, Pakistan and the West Indies.
On most weekends, the local
cricket team, composed of CSUF
students, professors and off-campus members, practices or plays
matches against opposing teams;
these games are played in the
sunken rectangular field near the
lab school on Shaw Avenue.
The team was founded in 1971
by New Zealand-bom Ivan Rowe,
a professor in the department of
education at CSUF, and is currently comprised of two Englishmen, one Canadian, two Sri
Lankans, 12 Indians, two Pakistanis, one New Zealander, five
Americans, one Australian, and
one West Indian (from the West
Indies).
Rowe said he started the team
for students from the British Commonwealth who were interested
in playing the old national sport—
cricket.
"Cricket was often called 'the
cement that binds the empire,'"
said Rowe.
According to him, the team had
been a sports club and was also
the first sports club at CSUF that
had women, participating in
games along with men.
Mike Mueller, team manager
and a teacher for the Fresno
County Migrant Education Program, has been involved as a
player since 1980, when he was a
freshman living in the CSUF dormitories.
As an affiliate of the Northern
California Cricket Association,
the team plays 16 games each
run to and from his wickets to the
sole wicket set up behind the
pitcher some 22 yards away.
Each complete run to and from
the wickets is called a run and the
team with the most runs wins; the
average score being between 125
to 135 runs for each team.
Cricket is not as simple as it
sounds. According to Mohan
Chand, a team member for 10 years,
"Cricket is like golf. Ifs a very
mental game and takes a lot of
"Cricket is like golf. It's a very mental game
and takes a lot of hard practice to become
good. It's a very technical game. People who
do not know it, cannot appreciate it."
Mohan Chand
season. The games begin in April.
Mueller explained thatcricket,
which is played by 11 members
on the field, focuses on a batter, a
pitcher and the rest of the team
who arc outfielders in turn.
Thepitcher tries to knock down
one or all three wooden stumps
behind the batter, called wickets.
Wickets arc about three feet high
and six inches in diameter and if
one of them is downed, the baU
tor's turn is over.
Thebatterconcentrateson hitting the ball far into the outfield
so that in the time it takes an outfielder to retrieve the ball, he can
hard practice to become good. It's
a very technical game. People who
do not know it, cannot appreciate
it.
"Ifs the finer pointsof the game
— the correctness of how a stroke
is made (that counts). People go to
see international cricket games
because the style of game is so
perfect."
A five-and-a-half-ounce ball,
made of red leather and stitched
around its equator, whizzed by
Chand and he ran after it while the
batter gleefully made his runs.
Slightly out of breath when he
returned, Chand mentioned the
Irian OaviM/milgrir
In th# game of Crick*, the batter Wts or deflects the ban Into a circular field of play. The pitcher
attempts to knock over the wickets just beyond the batter.
consequences of getting hi t by the
ball. He said that since the balls
are solid, they can really hurt if
someone gets hit and that nobody
should rum their back to the batter when he is about to hit the ball.
Bats used by the players are
inch-thick pieces of hickory wood,
about twenty-one inches in length
and four inches in width, with a
seven-inch-long handle at the top;
other equipment includes leg
guards, thigh pads, elbow pads,
gloves, shoes and helmets; and
their uniforms are white pants/
shorts, white shirts and a cap.
Mueller said the equipment has
tobe acquired from overseas since
it is of better quality. The equipment, which costs around $250
per player, is paid for by member-
shipdues,donationsand fundraisers.
"Whoever goes overseas picks
some things up for us," said
Mueller.
Since the team is operating on
a tight budget, Mueller said he is
grateful for the use of the field and
the fact that a pitch (a cement strip
which the batter and pitcher play
on) was built for them by Plant
Operations.
"It gives a nice clean bounce to
the ball," he said. The ball is likely
to travel further outfield if it
bounces right before the batter hits
it.
The players may not be able to
use the field much longer since
the university needs the land for
construction purposes. Rowesaid
he's hoping they can use the flood
control basin next to the football
field and that they can transfer the
pitch there.
Though enthused about the
team, most players did not think
that cricket would ever challenge
baseball or football in the United
States.
"It takes a lot of time, money
and effort to make it popular,"
said Chand. "It will only be popular in pockets of areas where
people will come from a crickct-
eering country."
According to Mueller, cricket is
not popular here because "the
game is a lot longer, about six
hours. Americans are used to
going in for two to three hours. Ifs
a slower-paced game."
He said cricket has a big advantage, though.
"You can play as long as you're
physically able to. One player
played until his 80s.'0
Mueller said the captain of the
Pakistani cricket team, Imran
Khan, who had once been on a
tourof the U.S. A, had been pleased
at the nurrj|£r of expatriates who
were trying to keep up the interest
in cricket.
Another* team member, Nick
Harrisson, originally from England, doesn't think cricket will
become as popular as some of the
major games in the US.A., but
"since I've been playing (since
1978), there's been a big improvement in this team. The whole standard in Northern California has
rcallyimproved.Mostofthe players are Indians and Pakistanis."
Brian Davto/lnsighr
Pitching requires skill and timing. The pitcher takes a running start
and throws the ball with a straight arm motion.
The soft-spoken player
watched a batter get into position.
"As I'm talking, I'll keep my
eye on the ball," said Harrisson.
This fear of the ball turned out
cause it gives me a chance to leam
from older and more experienced
players. They help me with my
bowling and batting."
According to him, cricket is a
to be well-founded. During the physically demanding game.
practice,oneoftheplayerswashit "Ifs pretty exhausting, espe-
on the back of his right calf with a cially when the games arc held in
fast ball and doubled up on the summer and ifs so hot. After a
field with pain. For the rest of game, I do get a little sore because
the morning he had to sit on the of all the running around—my
grass and just watch the others shoulders and legs hurt."
practice. Rowesaid that even though the
As he watched the players, team has had its ups and downs
■■■■■■■■MB^BBiaBi^BB over the years it usually comes up
" V**i • mam mImi n a I mm average or above average in the
YOU Can play aS lOng league because the players are
as you're physically ^CCOTdinstoMuctiCT/,nour
able tO. One Player league, we're middle of the pack
. . ... . . •-.y „ right now. If we had everyone that
Played Until hlS 80S. playedrcgularly, we'd be towards
**"! top. We have the best facilities
shady areas, rest rooms and
water nearby."
The New Zealand Cricket Society will be playing in Fresno on
July 5th, 6th and 7th before they
continue on their world tour; the
Harrisson said he'd thought he
would be a better player than the
rest of the team since he'd played
cricket in England, but that he'd
soon found out there were a lot of next stop for them being Vancou-
good players here. ver,Canada, where they will meet
One of the best players and the up with teams from 52 other na-
captainoftheteam,Abid Ali,used
to play for the Indian cricket team
for about six years. Ali lives in
Tracy, Calif., and was not.at the
practice. h
The youngest membcrof the
team, 15-year-old Nick Talwar,
never misses a practice session.
Talwar, who loves cricket and
is familiar with it since he grew up
around it in India, doesn't mind
being the youngest player.
"I like being the youngest be-
tions.
Potential members arc encouraged to get acquainted with cricket
by joining in on one of the weekend games or practices.
Mueller said he started out in
the team when a friend of hisasked
him to go to a practice.
"They put the pads on me and
I went in and tried and I just kind
of got into it. I enjoyed it. It was a
fun, social thing to do, and I got
the bug." —"
MATURE FEMALE ROOMMATE WANTETJL
Non-smoking, non-drinking, working and/or
graduate woman to share home near
Cedar/Hemdon
$300/month + P(I & E
Includes 2 bedrooms plus much more
Contact Karen at 299-9076
SUNNYSIDE HEALTH FOODS
Vitamins * Food supplements * Herbs
BULK GOODS
RAW DAIRY PRODUCTS
NATURAL COSMETICS
APPLIANCES & BOOKS
I 255-5650
VTHE V AJL-LiAvJrJCi APARTMENTsJ
1/2 Block to campus
Free Satellite Television
1,2 Bedrooms & Townhouses]
$100 off second months rent.
ARE YOU LIVING
NATURALLY @)
INTHE
90's?!
♦♦ Frozen ♦♦
\ Yogurt y
Culturea*Vade A P^uenzcd
nV
ilk and N<t^atif.lk. Water.
Sugar. Corn Sf*4". Flavorings,
Kosher G^un. Vt#nable Mono
and Di^cerides, Gua*Gum.
m5%!Cellulose, and Lot^st
BfUnGum. *♦
>w
6015 N. Palm
432-2553
Two Fresno locations:
Milk, Cream, Sugar,
& Natural Flavors.
fFREE2ozCU^
of Skvler's
Ice Cream
494 E. Shaw
...Bftfflff M
Finish spring break with a splash
o°
white water riyerraf^!
► Saturday, April 14,1990
► $35 students and general
► Tickets available at the
USU Information Center
*ttB
Object Description
| Title | 1990_04 Insight April 1990 |
| Alternative Title | Insight (California State University, Fresno) |
| Publisher | Dept. of Journalism, California State University, Fresno. |
| Publication Date | 1990 |
| Description | Weekly during the school year. Vol. 1, no. 1 (Oct. 8 1969-v. 29, no. 23 (May 13, 1998, issue. Title from masthead. Merged with Daily collegian. |
| Subject | California State University, Fresno -- Periodials |
| Contributors | California State University, Fresno Dept. of Journalism |
| Coverage | October 8, 1969 - May 13, 1998 |
| Format | Microfilm reels, 35mm |
| Technical Information | Scanned at 600 dpi, TIFF; Microfilm ScanPro 2000 "E-image data" |
| Language | eng |
Description
| Title | Insight Apr 04 1990 p 5 |
| Alternative Title | Insight (California State University, Fresno) |
| Publication Date | 1990 |
| Full-Text-Search |
Cricket team brings British sport to CSUF
ZARINA ZUMBRO
1 STAFP WRTTER ,J
The batter wipes the sweat off
his forehead, positions the bat at
his feet and furrows his brow in
concentration as he waits for the
pitcher to throw the red ball.
Sounds a bit like baseball, but
the game is cricket: a slow moving, rule-bound game popular in
Australia, England, India, Pakistan and the West Indies.
On most weekends, the local
cricket team, composed of CSUF
students, professors and off-campus members, practices or plays
matches against opposing teams;
these games are played in the
sunken rectangular field near the
lab school on Shaw Avenue.
The team was founded in 1971
by New Zealand-bom Ivan Rowe,
a professor in the department of
education at CSUF, and is currently comprised of two Englishmen, one Canadian, two Sri
Lankans, 12 Indians, two Pakistanis, one New Zealander, five
Americans, one Australian, and
one West Indian (from the West
Indies).
Rowe said he started the team
for students from the British Commonwealth who were interested
in playing the old national sport—
cricket.
"Cricket was often called 'the
cement that binds the empire,'"
said Rowe.
According to him, the team had
been a sports club and was also
the first sports club at CSUF that
had women, participating in
games along with men.
Mike Mueller, team manager
and a teacher for the Fresno
County Migrant Education Program, has been involved as a
player since 1980, when he was a
freshman living in the CSUF dormitories.
As an affiliate of the Northern
California Cricket Association,
the team plays 16 games each
run to and from his wickets to the
sole wicket set up behind the
pitcher some 22 yards away.
Each complete run to and from
the wickets is called a run and the
team with the most runs wins; the
average score being between 125
to 135 runs for each team.
Cricket is not as simple as it
sounds. According to Mohan
Chand, a team member for 10 years,
"Cricket is like golf. Ifs a very
mental game and takes a lot of
"Cricket is like golf. It's a very mental game
and takes a lot of hard practice to become
good. It's a very technical game. People who
do not know it, cannot appreciate it."
Mohan Chand
season. The games begin in April.
Mueller explained thatcricket,
which is played by 11 members
on the field, focuses on a batter, a
pitcher and the rest of the team
who arc outfielders in turn.
Thepitcher tries to knock down
one or all three wooden stumps
behind the batter, called wickets.
Wickets arc about three feet high
and six inches in diameter and if
one of them is downed, the baU
tor's turn is over.
Thebatterconcentrateson hitting the ball far into the outfield
so that in the time it takes an outfielder to retrieve the ball, he can
hard practice to become good. It's
a very technical game. People who
do not know it, cannot appreciate
it.
"Ifs the finer pointsof the game
— the correctness of how a stroke
is made (that counts). People go to
see international cricket games
because the style of game is so
perfect."
A five-and-a-half-ounce ball,
made of red leather and stitched
around its equator, whizzed by
Chand and he ran after it while the
batter gleefully made his runs.
Slightly out of breath when he
returned, Chand mentioned the
Irian OaviM/milgrir
In th# game of Crick*, the batter Wts or deflects the ban Into a circular field of play. The pitcher
attempts to knock over the wickets just beyond the batter.
consequences of getting hi t by the
ball. He said that since the balls
are solid, they can really hurt if
someone gets hit and that nobody
should rum their back to the batter when he is about to hit the ball.
Bats used by the players are
inch-thick pieces of hickory wood,
about twenty-one inches in length
and four inches in width, with a
seven-inch-long handle at the top;
other equipment includes leg
guards, thigh pads, elbow pads,
gloves, shoes and helmets; and
their uniforms are white pants/
shorts, white shirts and a cap.
Mueller said the equipment has
tobe acquired from overseas since
it is of better quality. The equipment, which costs around $250
per player, is paid for by member-
shipdues,donationsand fundraisers.
"Whoever goes overseas picks
some things up for us," said
Mueller.
Since the team is operating on
a tight budget, Mueller said he is
grateful for the use of the field and
the fact that a pitch (a cement strip
which the batter and pitcher play
on) was built for them by Plant
Operations.
"It gives a nice clean bounce to
the ball," he said. The ball is likely
to travel further outfield if it
bounces right before the batter hits
it.
The players may not be able to
use the field much longer since
the university needs the land for
construction purposes. Rowesaid
he's hoping they can use the flood
control basin next to the football
field and that they can transfer the
pitch there.
Though enthused about the
team, most players did not think
that cricket would ever challenge
baseball or football in the United
States.
"It takes a lot of time, money
and effort to make it popular,"
said Chand. "It will only be popular in pockets of areas where
people will come from a crickct-
eering country."
According to Mueller, cricket is
not popular here because "the
game is a lot longer, about six
hours. Americans are used to
going in for two to three hours. Ifs
a slower-paced game."
He said cricket has a big advantage, though.
"You can play as long as you're
physically able to. One player
played until his 80s.'0
Mueller said the captain of the
Pakistani cricket team, Imran
Khan, who had once been on a
tourof the U.S. A, had been pleased
at the nurrj|£r of expatriates who
were trying to keep up the interest
in cricket.
Another* team member, Nick
Harrisson, originally from England, doesn't think cricket will
become as popular as some of the
major games in the US.A., but
"since I've been playing (since
1978), there's been a big improvement in this team. The whole standard in Northern California has
rcallyimproved.Mostofthe players are Indians and Pakistanis."
Brian Davto/lnsighr
Pitching requires skill and timing. The pitcher takes a running start
and throws the ball with a straight arm motion.
The soft-spoken player
watched a batter get into position.
"As I'm talking, I'll keep my
eye on the ball," said Harrisson.
This fear of the ball turned out
cause it gives me a chance to leam
from older and more experienced
players. They help me with my
bowling and batting."
According to him, cricket is a
to be well-founded. During the physically demanding game.
practice,oneoftheplayerswashit "Ifs pretty exhausting, espe-
on the back of his right calf with a cially when the games arc held in
fast ball and doubled up on the summer and ifs so hot. After a
field with pain. For the rest of game, I do get a little sore because
the morning he had to sit on the of all the running around—my
grass and just watch the others shoulders and legs hurt."
practice. Rowesaid that even though the
As he watched the players, team has had its ups and downs
■■■■■■■■MB^BBiaBi^BB over the years it usually comes up
" V**i • mam mImi n a I mm average or above average in the
YOU Can play aS lOng league because the players are
as you're physically ^CCOTdinstoMuctiCT/,nour
able tO. One Player league, we're middle of the pack
. . ... . . •-.y „ right now. If we had everyone that
Played Until hlS 80S. playedrcgularly, we'd be towards
**"! top. We have the best facilities
shady areas, rest rooms and
water nearby."
The New Zealand Cricket Society will be playing in Fresno on
July 5th, 6th and 7th before they
continue on their world tour; the
Harrisson said he'd thought he
would be a better player than the
rest of the team since he'd played
cricket in England, but that he'd
soon found out there were a lot of next stop for them being Vancou-
good players here. ver,Canada, where they will meet
One of the best players and the up with teams from 52 other na-
captainoftheteam,Abid Ali,used
to play for the Indian cricket team
for about six years. Ali lives in
Tracy, Calif., and was not.at the
practice. h
The youngest membcrof the
team, 15-year-old Nick Talwar,
never misses a practice session.
Talwar, who loves cricket and
is familiar with it since he grew up
around it in India, doesn't mind
being the youngest player.
"I like being the youngest be-
tions.
Potential members arc encouraged to get acquainted with cricket
by joining in on one of the weekend games or practices.
Mueller said he started out in
the team when a friend of hisasked
him to go to a practice.
"They put the pads on me and
I went in and tried and I just kind
of got into it. I enjoyed it. It was a
fun, social thing to do, and I got
the bug." —"
MATURE FEMALE ROOMMATE WANTETJL
Non-smoking, non-drinking, working and/or
graduate woman to share home near
Cedar/Hemdon
$300/month + P(I & E
Includes 2 bedrooms plus much more
Contact Karen at 299-9076
SUNNYSIDE HEALTH FOODS
Vitamins * Food supplements * Herbs
BULK GOODS
RAW DAIRY PRODUCTS
NATURAL COSMETICS
APPLIANCES & BOOKS
I 255-5650
VTHE V AJL-LiAvJrJCi APARTMENTsJ
1/2 Block to campus
Free Satellite Television
1,2 Bedrooms & Townhouses]
$100 off second months rent.
ARE YOU LIVING
NATURALLY @)
INTHE
90's?!
♦♦ Frozen ♦♦
\ Yogurt y
Culturea*Vade A P^uenzcd
nV
ilk and N |
