The latest Rankings on TV ! Each week TV Asia will be carrying the latest news about American College Cricket members – you !

For practically every student now playing in American College Cricket the dream of being a cricket star had been put in the back of their minds by the time they left their parents’ homes to attend university.

They resigned themselves to live vicariously through the accomplishments of stars like Tendulkar. As some students said, “there are over 1 Billion people in India, and only 11 can play on a cricket team….so your parents tell you – forget your cricket dreams, get an education.”

In its 3 years American College Cricket has put hundreds of these students on a stage where they can be stars living a dream they didn’t expect to come through, whilst getting that valuable education !

Now after the past 6 weeks some of these students can now say they’ve played competitive cricket on TV ! Starting with Rutgers and NYU-Polytechnic, NJ Institute of Technology, Ryerson University, UMBC, Penn State and York College, the teams blazed a trail for American cricket !

So it was that the 6th game was broadcast Dec 10 on TV Asia. NJIT had knocked out a strong UMBC team with a last ball win, to get to the Finals to face a resurgent York College Cardinals team.

Loaded with talent,York College Cardinals have had their issues operating as a team – if they can, they are likely to be a favorite to win the Chanderpaul Trophy at the 2012 Spring Break Championship.

NJ Institute of Technology, on the other hand, were looking for a chance to show their building strength, leading up to the nationals.

York batted first and a wicket in the first over lifted the NJIT Highlanders, but it brought together 2 of the best batsmen in the New York area, left hander Akeem Dodson and right hander Karan Ganesh !

From 1 for 1 at then end of the first over Dodson and Ganesh cracked 27 runs in the next 3 overs . Dodson went on to make 27 with a four and 2 sixes. Ganesh smashed 4 fours in his 29. Then NJIT’s AJ tore into the middle order, getting 3 wickets in his 4 overs, albeit for 31 runs.

But the York College Captain Abbas Khizar lit up the ground with a fine 38 (1 four,3 sixes) in the middle order, enabling York College to get to 161 in their 20 overs. Mayur Patel took 2 wickets in 4 overs for 28 runs, whilst Vixar Patel took 1 for 25 in his 4.

NJIT openers Ravi and Captain Prem started slowly but built a solid foundation, 54 iin 9 overs before Suleman broke getting Prem went for 22 ( 1 four,1 six ). Ata run rate of 6, NJIT was only a bit behind the 8 runs per over needed to get 162 in 20 overs. Then Ravi went for 29 (2 sixes). The rest of the Hiighlanders batting crumbled like a dry Popeyes’ biscuit, and bad running between the wickets resulted in 4 run outs !

Mohammed Suleman, who is looking forward to joining the NYPD in 2011, had an arresting spell of 4 overs,16 and 3 wickets, effectively handcuffing the batsmen. Karan Ganesh was a mystery to the batsmen, taking 2 wickets in his 4 overs for 13 runs. Bilal Shahid bowled a tight spell of 4 overs for 11 runs. Hugo D’Oliveira was the only York College bowler to suffer being hit for 29 runs in 3 overs, but he took the important wicket of Ravi.

So York College emerged as the American College Cricket Mid Atlantic Champion in emphatic fashion.The team looked resplendent in their cardinal red uniforms, with “American College Cricket” across the front – thanks to the work of their new Captain Abbas Khizar, and Ravi of CricketzoneUSA.com

Most importantly, this was the 6th game televised by American College Cricket and TV Asia – effectively lifting cricket in America up much higher than it had been. Cricket in America, and Canada had never before been on television !

The slow motion replays, split screens, graphics gave the telecast a professional look that got better with each game – and its exciting to look forward to how good it will be for the next matches !

Commentary was ably done by Andre Kirton, Aoun Jafarey (Indiana U), Rishabh Natarajan (NYU-Poly), Hammad Rana (Indiana U) and Lloyd Jodah.

TV Asia has committed to televising at least 21 matches next year, including from the American College Cricket Spring Break Championship in March 2012, for which Registration is now going on.
by Lloyd Jodah

Rahul Dravid, in a magnificent speech,practically laid out a blueprint for where cricket should go in the future – hopefully, those with the power to make changes,take heed.

A Test Championship, ODIs in context, and the economically valuable T20 played at a league & domestic level only – something to consider. My view is T20 cricket should be an Olympic sport,but that’s probably never happening.

Video courtesy of Cricket Australia.

REGISTER for the American College Cricket Spring Break Championship : Contact Lloyd Jodah,President. Dogevpr2@aim.com , 646 515 0712

EXCLUSIVE MEDIA PARTNER : In USA & Canada, TV Asia will televise the Semis & Finals of the Spring Break Championship (nationals), and the Semis & Finals at least 6 of our Regionals in 2012. International options are being explored.
http://tvasiausa.com/images/pdf/acc.pdf

Additionally highlights will be shown from the regionals & nationals other matches and reports on American College Cricket clubs throughout the year.

TV Asia will host a Bollywood concert in the break between the Semis & finals on March 18

FLIGHTS : the nationals is March 13 -18 – a fun time to be in Florida so millions of college kids will be going there. The earlier you can book your flights the better.

TEAM COMPOSITION : Undergrads, Grads, MD & Phd students, & up to 2 alumni in the playing XI (if your school rules allow) . A minimum of 2 Undergrads. The touring squad may be as large as you wish.

As in all our tournaments, ROSTERS are verified by the school. Teams must be picked regardless of nationality.

UNIFORMS : All uniforms must have your school and American College Cricket logos ONLY. No exceptions.Teams not adhering to this will NOT play. Going forward new uniforms will have “American College Cricket” written across the torso (see 2011 York College photo) – before ordering uniforms contact Lloyd.
HATS : must be school or American College Cricket caps or hats or plain.

DOWN THE LEGSIDE : this is not baseball,with a known strike zone. Balls deemed playable on the legside (within about 3 inches of the leg stump) will NOT be called a wide – so practice your leg-side shots !

FACEBOOK : Every player must “like” the Facebook Fanpage of our website: “AmericanCollegeCricket.com”.

WHERE & WHEN : Ft Lauderdale, Florida…….March 13 – 18, 2012. March 12 available for practice.

FIELDS : As in the past 3 Championships we will use the CBRP (Central Broward Regional Park) Cricket Stadium (ICC-Certified for ODIs) & its satellite fields, as well as Brian Piccolo fields in Ft Lauderdale Flordia.
http://www.broward.org/Parks/CentralBrowardRegionalPark/Pages/Default.aspx

The Stadium’s wicket is TURF. The satellite fields are ARTIFICIAL (not matting or carpet) that drain well and play fast and bouncy.Brian Piccolo wickets are turf, but they have been playing with a matting on top for cost savings.

The outfields are the best in the USA. The grass is cut low.

HOTEL : We have used Quality Inn Sawgrass Conference Center .They have provided us with a good rate & facilities, allowing 4 to a room. Free hot breakfast. Free transportation to & from the Stadium fields. Free Wi Fi.
http://www.qualityinn.com/hotel-plantation-florida-FL798?promo=pmfgqifl798&chain=Q&seg=stAFYfl8i|pmt|b&aid=10327316233&pkw=quality%20inn%20sawgrass%20conference%20center&tid=1547ere10489

We will announce when you can start booking at this hotel. Teams staying anywhere else are responsible for their own transportation to & from the fields.

NEARBY BEACHES etc – The beaches and attractions of Ft Lauderdale, South Beach and Miami are all close by.

SCORING : Each team will provide a scorer for each game. The games at the Stadium will be computer-scored.

MEDIA INTERVIEWS : Many of our players have been interviewed by their college & other media such as New York Times, Washington Post, NY Daily News, India Times, etc. TV Asia will also be interviewing you so be prepared to speak in front of a camera, as a representative of your College team, and American College Cricket.

Do NOT refer to cricket as a “gentleman’s game” !

CLUBS ON THE WEB: I suggest every club have a Facebook group or Fanpage (you figure out which is better), and a page on your College’s website. You can also send major info to AmericanCollegeCricket.com.
I DON”T recommend you have your own website – its too much work, & often difficult to get someone to maintain it.

CONFERENCES : Last year we webcast the drawing of the groups. This year we will either televise on TV Asia or webcast the drawing. This year the Top 8 seeds will be separated, so we don’t have the “Group of Death” like last year.

Therefore your Ranking going into the Championship is important – how can you help your ranking outside of tournaments ? Post AmericanCollegeCricket.com articles on Facebook & other Social Media.

Do other off the field activities – get an article in your college media ! This will also help your team earn Bonus Points going into the Championship.

UMPIRES, FIELDS, BALLS,STUMPS : are provided by American College Cricket.

HELMETS : mandatory against all medium & fast bowlers. Mandatory for in close fielders & wicketkeeper standing up.

TIME LIMITS : Each game will finish in 3 hours or less – we have done this for the past 3 years, & it works well.
We’re adding penalties for delays by batting or fielding side.

NUMBER OF GAMES : In 2010 we played 47 games, in 2011 over 65 in 5 days. In 2012 each team will play a minmum of 3 or 4 matches, plus the playoffs & Finals if you make it.

SPONSORS: do NOT sign an agreement with a sponsor without contacting Lloyd.

EQUIPMENT : our preferred vender is CricketzoneUSA.com, contact Ravi 347 387 2381.

American College Cricket GEAR : is now available for purchasing through CricketzoneUSA – check our website.

COLLEGE SOCCER FIELDS: Thanks to Arvin Varma & the Trojans Cricket Club, we used the USC soccer field for the West Coast Championship – using a matting pitch. It was incredible ! The outfield was the best we have played on anywhere – resulting in REAL batting – not “bush” cricket !

Work with your college admin to get access to school soccer fields to play ! Contact Lloyd for more info.

QUESTIONS or to start a club in your college , contact Lloyd Jodah by phone, email or Facebook.

The 5 American College Cricket games broadcast so far in USA & Canada have been historic and groundbreaking – with 1 more to come for this Fall season – this Saturday at 7pm., York College vs NJIT.

No one else has so far even come close to televising domestic cricket in the USA and Canada. 

PENN STATE vs YORK COLLEGE :

 In the 3rd TV game in American and Canadian history, Toronto’s Ryerson University took on NYU-Polytechnic.  

 Batting first the NYU-Polytechnic batsmen relied on extras to move the score along, and at the end of the Power Play they had just 17 runs for 2 wickets.  

At the Central Broward Regional Park, the American College Cricket Southeast Championship begins Sat with Auburn University defending its SE title. Last year the newly formed University of Florida Gators team put up a strong fight in the Finals, spearheaded by a magnificent innings by Ricky Nayar.

But the Auburn Tigers led by Naveen Thiagarajan and Rahul Potghan,has played as one of the most tightly knit teams in college cricket and were crowned the SE Champs.

The Gators Cricket Club have also gone on to start an Alumni Network to support their cricket club. They have won 9 of 11 “practice games” played this semester in preparation for the regionals said Vijay Pappu.

The University of South Florida (USF) Bulls under Sri Harsh Boddepalli, have been consistently strong since they were started for the first National Championship (2009 ). They were in a Finalist in 2009, a Final Four in 2010, & played undefeated in 2011, narrowly missing the final four on points.

Florida Atlantic University (FAU) led by Ranjit feel they are ready to become the top team in the Southeast.However USF’s Nagesh Nayak says, “Even the Indian team doesn’t practice as much as USF does.”