Cricket tourney for newbies

WSU Tennis Ball Cricket Tournament has 32 teams playing; rules tweaked for newcomers.

Wright State Cricket Club batsman Milinda Ranatunga eyes a pitch during practice Friday, June 19, at Irwin Playground in Dayton. The club will host the WSU Tennis Ball Cricket Tournament on Saturday.

Staff photo by Chris Stewart Wright State Cricket Club batsman Milinda Ranatunga eyes a pitch during practice Friday, June 19, at Irwin Playground in Dayton. The club will host the WSU Tennis Ball Cricket Tournament on Saturday.

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By Andy Sedlak, Staff Writer 12:18 AM Friday, June 26, 2009

BEAVERCREEK — While the game of cricket mirrors much of baseball’s play, Lucas Glover may have an easier time at bat than Brandon Phillips.

“Unlike baseball where you hit across, in cricket you hit up to down,” said Arunesh Roy, a member of the Wright State Cricket Club. “Most people who play cricket have a very nice swing in golf.”

The Wright State Cricket Club will host the third annual WSU Tennis Ball Cricket Tournament on Saturday, June 27, at Rotary Park. The tournament is geared toward weekend cricketers and abbreviates the game to accommodate newcomers.

For instance, the ICC (International Cricket Council) specifies 11 members per team, but this tournament requires only seven. Also, a tennis ball will be used in place of the usual cricket ball. The tournament itself is an all-day event. Things begin at 8 a.m. on six different softball diamonds. The 32 teams will be grouped into divisions of four with the top two teams from each division advancing to a pool of 16 playoff teams.

Finals games, which are expected to take place around 10 p.m., will be played under the lights of Rotary Park.

“There were 200 people here last year with 16 teams,” Roy said. “People bring their families and friends.”

This year the number of teams doubled to 32.

Teams are guaranteed to play in at least three games and tennis balls will be supplied at the event. Water and Gatorade also will be provided.

Cricket is the national summer sport of England and its popularity in the United States was on the rise during the Civil War. During that time, the sport competed with baseball in terms of participants.

Roy insists the learning curve isn’t too steep.

“One of the guys on the team got in touch with a few guys from the lab where he works,” he said. “They played some practice matches and then they actually beat one of the best teams out here. Nobody expected anything from these guys.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-9377  or asedlak@DaytonDailyNews.com.

Baseball-to-Cricket  Translator

4 Bases = 2 Stumps

Pitcher = Bowler

Catcher = Keeper

Batter = Batter

Run scored by running bases, back to home = Run scored by running between stumps

Home run scores the batter, any other base runners = Six runs scored by hitting the ball outside the fenced area, four runs if it rolls under fence

End of inning: 3 outs = end of inning: once entire lineup bats

Average baseball score: 4-3 = Average cricket score: 200-175

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