Immigrants fueling a US boom in cricket

FRANK ELTMAN Associated Press Published:

EAST ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) -- Cricket, the international game of bats and balls that isn't baseball, is enjoying a surge of popularity in America, with the debut of a national league this spring and higher demand to build "pitches" across the country.

Areas such as New York City, California's Silicon Valley, Washington, D.C., Dallas and Chicago have become cricket hotbeds, fueled by an influx of mostly South Asian immigrants, some of whom arrived as part of the high-tech boom.





"Playing cricket in America helps me remember my back country," Chowdhury said. "But I really don't miss it like that, because I can play here."

In the past several years, communities in states from Maryland to Indiana have taken initiatives to organize youth leagues and build cricket facilities. The United States Youth Cricket Association has donated 1,500 sets of cricket equipment -- bats, balls and wickets -- to community youth programs around the country.

"We're hoping that as kids grow up, they will create pressure on school systems to think of cricket," said Jamie Harrison, CEO of the American Cricket Federation.

Cricket is wildly popular in former countries of the British Empire. The game is played on a field known as a pitch, but the pitcher is called a bowler. The bowler hurls the ball to the opposing team's batsman, who attempts to hit it with a flattened bat. Depending on how well the ball travels, a hit can result in one or more runs.

In the most traditional forms, a team bowls until 10 opposing batsmen are tagged out, meaning matches can run for days. In other forms, the game is limited by the number of "overs," a series of six throws. New York City schools play a limited "over" form that lasts two to three hours.


"When soccer first started here, people said it's not going to go anywhere -- American football is the thing," Aaron said. "Soccer has not replaced American football, but it has certainly taken off now, hasn't it? It's attracting international teams coming here to play. Cricket can do the same thing."


Associated Press video journalist David Martin contributed to this report.

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