SportsWhen the sun comes out, the cricket club practices at the heart...

When the sun comes out, the cricket club practices at the heart of campus

This article was published on April 9, 2014 and may be out of date. To maintain our historical record, The Cascade does not update or remove outdated articles.
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By Martin Castro (Contributor) – Email

Print Edition: April 9, 2014

 

UFV’s cricket club practices out on the Abbotsford campus green, and welcomes new members! (Image:  Anthony Biondi)
UFV’s cricket club practices out on the Abbotsford campus green, and welcomes new members! (Image: Anthony Biondi)

If you’ve been at the Abbotsford campus in the past couple of weeks, you’ve most likely seen a group of bat-wielding students out by the path that leads from Tim Horton’s to C and D buildings. If you’re anything like me, you probably had no idea that UFV has a functioning cricket club. Club president Yadwinder Sharma and team manager Bommy Ahuja were gracious enough to answer some of my questions when I ran up to them one sunny afternoon and interrupted their practice. 

 

When was the UFV cricket club formed? 

Yadwinder: Around four years ago.

 

Does the club usually practice out here on the green?

Bommy: Oh, yeah.

Yadwinder: Almost every day.

 

I hadn’t seen the club practice out here before, is it just the start of the season?

Bommy: Yeah, the season is just starting; you’ll see us more [during the] summer, because the [weather] will get nicer.

 

Do you play against other universities?

Yadwinder: Yes. We will have a tournament this coming summer, at UVic.

 

How does one play cricket? 

Yadwinder: Mostly, people think this game is kind of like baseball, but it’s different.

Bommy: Totally different.

 

What are the rules? And what is the goal of the game?

Yadwinder: There are 11 players on each team, [with] two batsmen playing at a time and one bowler [throwing] the ball. The ball has to touch the ground one time.

 

So it has to bounce?

Bommy: Yeah, just one bounce. If the ball directly hits the wicket (a set of stumps at each end of the cricket pitch), then the [batman] is out, and if one person hits the ball, and the ball directly goes to a fielder, and they catch it, that’s an out.

 

So if the ball hits the wicket, that’s an out.

Bommy: And if the bat touches the wicket, it’s called hit-wicket, and the batsman is out. There are 20 [or] 30 ways of outing the batsman.

Yadwinder: [And] the total [circumference] of the field is 68 metres.

 

How does one get points?

Yadwinder: If the batter runs up to [one end of the pitch] that’s one point. If he comes back, this is two [points].

Bommy: If they hit the ball out of the boundary, that’s six points.

Yadwinder: If the ball hits the ground, and after that crosses the boundary, that’s four points.

Bommy: And there are overs in the game. In one over, there are six balls.

 

Are those kind of like innings?

Yadwinder: Yeah.

 

If a student would like to join to join the club, who would they have to contact?

Yadwinder: We have a page on Facebook (“UFV Cricket Club”). They can message us on there.

Bommy: Anybody can come and practice, but if they want to be part of the team, [joining] us for the tournament, we [hold] trials.

 

When are trials usually held? 

Yadwinder: Next month.

 

Do you teach people cricket as well?

Yadwinder: Yes, people always like to come up to us and learn.

 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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