American College Cricket » Carnegie Mellon U

Ohio State Buckeyes Cricket new Champ in the Big 10, win Gordon Gee Trophy !

ljodah — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 14:15:47 +0000

2010 winner of the Gordon Gee Trophy Purdue, fresh from their win over Indiana University, came into the American College Cricket Midwest Championship with a formidable record as the top cricket club in the Big 10.

In contrast, the new team from University of Buffalo was inexperienced, and happy to particpate in their first tournament. Both Purdue and Buffalo got off to a bad start: the Boilermakers lost to Carnegie Mellon whilst Buffalo were defeated by Cleveland State, Ishaan Bhatt took 3 wickets for 7 runs and Pavan 2 for 12 for the CSU Vikings.

The Carnegie Mellon Cricket club, hurriedly pulled together by Atishe Chordia working with Lloyd Jodah in 2009, was one of the original five teams that showed up in Ft Lauderdale Florida in March 2009, and showed a new path for cricket in America. They were part of some key innovations that spring for cricket in America and Canada.

The American College Cricket Spring Break Championship was the first “season ball” college cricket tournament in the USA, and the first national championship for colleges.

Three games were scheduled per day – another first which later rendered the 47 game 2010 Championship and the 67 game 2011 American College Cricket Spring Break Championship possible.

The New York Times did a huge 2 page story in the Sports Section on the revolutionary 2009 event – the first time the nation’s top paper had covered domestic cricket in modern times.

Autumn and rain had set in and the weather was tough on the cricket players on Saturday, but not even wet 50-something degrees weather would stop the cricket. Two games were reduced to 12 overs and batting was tough all weekend.

Carnegie Mellon then took on Penn State and defeated the Nittany Lions behind a 50 by Mudit. The OSU Buckeyes gave the inexperienced Buffalo team their second loss, as Anupam Vivek took 3 wickets for 8 runs,and Anoop 2 for 3. Nakul made 19.

Penn State then knocked 2010 Big 10 Champion Purdue out of the tournament, but Ohio State’s win over Cleveland State earned Ohio State a place in the Finals against Carnegie Mellon University.

However the bowling of the Buckeyes, particularly last year’s Big 10 MVP Romel Somavat, overwhelmed the CMU guys and routed them for 28 runs. Somavat took 3 wickets to add to his 50 scored in an earlier game to earn the Midwest Championship MVP honors again ! Somavat was also one of 5 American College Cricket players of 2010 and a 2-time All American in cricket.

Ohio State easily chased the runs down to win the Gordon Gee Trophy !

The American College Cricket Midwest Championship for the second time bought exciting collegiate cricket to the Ohio State campus, and Columbus. The OSU Cricket Club, led by its President & Phd candidate Anupam Vivek continued their key role in American College Cricket by being great hosts and organizers.

The new Champion in the Big 10 – Ohio State Buckeyes !

More complete scores & photos to follow:

Gameday ! Cleveland State v Buffalo, Carnegie v Penn State, Iowa v Iowa State, Purdue v Carnegie, Ohio State v Buffalo!

ljodah — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 01:10:20 +0000

It’s autumn, the leaves are evolving into dazzling hues, the winds blow a bit chilly and in the Heartland of America college cricket teams take the field to battle !

The old custom of cricket sweaters, which originated in the English weather, achieve a new relevance in American College Cricket season – only now it may be hoodies !

It may be in the 50′s some days, but the 50′s the batsman is focused on is his own half century of runs !

Saturday, Oct 1st, gameday, there will be matches in Ohio and Iowa, with many Big 10 colleges competing - with national rankings, and 2 Championships, the Midwest and Great Plains, at stake !

The Buckeyes open their campaign against newcomer University of Buffalo, hoping to keep the Gordon Gee Trophy at Ohio State. Defending Champion Purdue want to win here to regain their top 10 ranking – which they lost after not making it to the nationals.

American College Cricket pioneer school Carnegie Mellon has a tough schedule taking on Purdue and Penn State. The Nittany Lions have some new blood eager to take the Gordon Gee Trophy back to Paterno country – Joe Paterno has been coaching there so long he might actually have been around when Philadelphia had one of the strongest cricket teams in the world (in the 1880′s & 18890′s).

New team Iowa State, will face the Hawkeyes and the Minnesota Gophers. The Gophers have been getting stronger each since beginning in 2010.

The guys from Buffalo, and Iowa State are dark horses, whilst University of Iowa showed flashes of strength at the 2011 American College Cricket Spring Break Championship.

Cleveland State Vikings had their first tournament at the nationals, and have been practising hard since for this regional.

Ohio State University President Gordon Gee (who is also a member of the American College Cricket Advisory Board) is expected to attend the finals on Sunday.

by Lloyd Jodah

Oct 1,Saturday : Minnesota vs Iowa State,Cleveland State vs Buffalo,Carnegie vs Penn State, Iowa vs Iowa State, Purdue vs Carnegie, Ohio State vs Buffalo

Midwest Championship for Gordon Gee Trophy – Colleges confirmed & Schedule set !

ljodah — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 04:30:29 +0000

Last year Ohio State University President E Gordon Gee did us the honor of attending the American College Cricket Midwest Championship involving many Big 10 schools.

Purdue University took away the Gordon Gee Trophy,after an exciting Finals vs the OSU Buckeyes. No doubt Ohio State would like revenge against the Boilermakers.

Purdue University and Indiana University Cricket will, the week before on Sept 24,at the invitation of the Mayor of Indianapolis Greg Ballard, open a new cricket field in Indiananapolis.

This year the Midwest Championship has been split, to create the Great Plains Championship and avoid the teams from farther west having to travel too far. In addition the Great Plains Championship will highlight the on campus cricket field of the University of Iowa, earned through the hard work of Anup Gandhi and the Hawkeyes Cricket Club.

Penn State has taken its place competing against other Big 10 colleges, whilst new team University of Buffalo will make its first American College Cricket appearance.

Since the nationals will be restricted to 32 teams, teams will be motivated to earn as many points as possible to ensure they qualify for next March’s American College Cricket Spring Break Championship.

Once again the guys of Buckeyes cricket, this time headed by Anupam Vivek, are hosting the Midwest Championship, as they did superbly, for American College Cricket’s first regional last year.

Last year USU’s Romel Somavat earned Championship MVP on the field, even as he played a tremendous role in organising the tournament.

SCHEDULE for SATURDAY OCT 1 – Start 8 am.

OSU Buckeyes' Cheerleaders, at the 2010 American College Cricket Midwest Championship

FIELD 1

Purdue vs Carnegie Mellon

Carnegie Mellon vs Penn State

Penn State vs Purdue

FIELD 2

U of Buffalo vs Ohio State

Cleveland State vs U of Buffalo

Ohio State vs Cleveland State

SUNDAY OCT 2

The final four will be determined based on points earned, including Bonus points.

FIELD 1 -Semis

FIELD 2 – Semis

FINALS – on campus, on Ohio State University cricket field

by Lloyd Jodah

Iowa Hawkeyes vs Carnegie Mellon – Live Updates !

ljodah — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 19:30:13 +0000

Carnegie Mellow showed their bowling strenght – getting Iowa out for 81 .

Iowa retaliated by having Carnegie Mellon reelinbg at 34 for 5 after 10 overs. It looks like an exciting and close one !

The University of Iowa Cricket Club struck hard, and bowled out Carnegie Mellon for 62 ! Iowa won !

Videos-AllStars,MC,GWU & CMU from past year of American College Cricket

ljodah — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 19:54:27 +0000

Aug 2009 – American College Cricket Allstars vs Montgomery College, Sundar Memorial Game

Carnegie Mellon University Cricket Club ,one of the pioneering 5 Universities of the first American College Cricket Spring Break Championship – did a Benefit for 3 slain Policae Officers in Pittsburgh.The local TV station covered the Event.

George Washington University Cricket Club – these guys have been good at getting Press. Here is their Introduction:

Congrats to the Graduates & remembering When we were the new Boys

ljodah — Sun, 23 May 2010 22:57:46 +0000

As some of you, our College Cricketers graduate, the words of this song by Rod Stewart “When we were the New Boys” clearly express what must be going through through your minds, as you part from your friends and fellow cricketers - Listen

Rod Stewart – When We Were The New Boys @ Yahoo! Video

Graduated 2010

Sudeep Misra (Thunderbird) MBA

Kalpesh Patel (UMiami)

Sumantro Das (BU)

Atishe Chordia (CMU)

Hasan Ali Raza (UPenn)
Curt Sonnet (GWU)

Ankit Sheth (GWU)

Alexander “Ali” Sternberg (GWU)

Amr Hussain (GWU)

Sadiq Naseer (MC)
Romel Somavat (OSU) MA

Mandela Kiran (BU) MA
Sahil Parekh (Rutgers)

Suchit Laheri (MC)

Raghav Bharadwaj (MC & UMBC)

Sadiq Naseer (MC & UMBC)

Gurnish Singh (UMBC)

Chirag Vani (UMBC)

Santan Saraf (UMBC)

We wish you well and as pioneers you are always part of the American

College Cricket family.

The Graduate was released in 1967, and won the Best Picture Oscar. It starred Dustin Hoffman,Anne Bancroft & Katherine Ross.

Job Hunting ? Maybe American College Cricket can help

ljodah — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 05:17:41 +0000

College Cricketers are among the brightest and the best. You go on to major positions in medicine, finance, IT, engineering, law and other professions, but sometimes you need a little help finding that first position.

Send your information to us, we will post it in a special Section FREE. This offer is limited to players who have particpated in either of the American College Cricket Championships or other American College Cricket-approved games.

Suggested format:

Name:

Qualifications:

Position or Field desired:

Location:

Contact info:

GWU Roadtrip to the Fighting Scots

ljodah — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 13:46:52 +0000

Roadtrip Blog by Hugo Scheckter (GWU) -who resigned today as President of the GWO Cricket Club, to spend more time with his family (?).

We met at 6pm on Friday and loaded our bags into our two cars for the 7 hour drive to Wooster, Ohio. The minivan was tightly packed with equipment, players and their luggage, and so it was fairly cramped for the ride there. After stopping a few times for food and gas, we arrived at about 2am after a scare where the iPhone, which was also our GPS, had about 6% battery left with 2 hours to go. (Editor’s note: these are all very smart guys)

We woke up early the next day, and headed to Wooster’s stunning campus. We warmed up in their quad throughout early on, and started to play them in the middle of their campus. There was a decent crowd, with a lot of people asking questions about how the game was played, and there were probably 20 people there at all times!

Our batting was solid, with experienced batsmen Ishaan Prakash and Amr Hassan getting 32 and 30 respectively, before the 10^th batsman Ankit Sheth came in and got a 27 not out. This was on a day where storms were predicted, and strong winds and light rain, as well as a makeshift wicket hampered the playing conditions.

The bowling was all about the Hassan family, as both Captain Amr and Freshman Zain both picked up 3 wickets each, although Zain let 5 less runs go in his spell with 19. Victor Williams, Ishaan Prakash and Vice Captain Jahan Tahiliiani picked up a wicket each.

The second game against Carnegie Mellon was a different affair. It was GW Cricket’s second game of the day, and also our first under lights, in the impressive but freezing John P. Papp Football Stadium.

GW played very well, and was undone by a single CMU batsman, who was clearly a very gifted player, who managed to score over 100 runs. They matched our target fairly quickly, but still a good team performance .

The Sunday game vs Wooster was on a lovely warm day. The players warmed up in groups, some doing some fielding practice and some deciding to play some touch football on a fantastic turf, despite none of us really being sure of the rules. I came in for the injured Ankit Sheth to make my leather ball debut for GW Cricket, which was quite an occasion. I was put at fine leg to try and limit my handling of the ball.

Ishaan Prakash broke the club record with a 97 while batting, a record that had only stood for 15 hours since Amr Hassan got 82 the night before vs CMU. We ended up with 198 as a target for them to reach, and despite a fast outfield we managed to hold out and win the game, which definitely was a huge morale boost for the team on the way home.

The trip home was fairly uneventful, although we did pass two Amish Wagons just outside Wooster, which was a new experience for all of us! I also took a detour which I thought was to a gas station off the highway, but instead was a very creepy forest in Maryland, which we got lost in for 30 minutes. All part of a great trip!

Wooster were great hosts, and we want to thank Maaz for organizing it all. We look forward to seeing them at the Championships next year, and we hope to be able to head back to Wooster soon, or host them in DC sometime!

CMU’s cricket team asked to play memorial game for police officers

ljodah — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 14:44:48 +0000

6 members of the 2009 Carnegie Mellon cricket team at the 2009 Nationals.Captain Atishe Chordia 3rd from left.

Carnegie Mellon’s cricket team hosted a benefit match last Saturday at noon for three Pittsburgh police officers who lost their lives last year.

All three of the officers loved baseball and had been interested in cricket due to the similarities between the two sports. With this in mind, the police department approached Carnegie Mellon’s cricket team to play the memorial match.

The Carnegie Mellon U cricket team ,led by Atishe Chordia, was one of the 5 pioneering schools that particpated in the first American College Cricket Spring Break Championship in 2009.

All America 1st Team announced !

ljodah — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 01:20:06 +0000

Adil Bhatti (MC)

Steve Kalloo, Umpire since 1989 (WICUA/USCUA), has officiated International games and has spent decades watching Test and First Class cricket. Umpire Kalloo said the fielding at the 2010 American College Cricket Spring Break Championship was “some of the best fielding I have seen…..as good as Test level “.

Hassan Choghtai’s catch in the VOA News video was one of countless great fielding moments.American College Cricket President Lloyd Jodah,in announcing the All America 1st Team, said :

“I saw icons like Rohan Kanhai and Gary Sobers play and as a boy I woke Alvin Kallicharran in the mornings to bowl to him in the nets. I saw West Indies cricket at its fiery best with Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Colin Croft, Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garmer etc.

Growing up I witnessed countless other greats like Imran Khan, Sunil Gavaskar, Majid Khan, Zaheer Abbas, Clive Lloyd, Dennis Lillee, Jeff Thomson, the Chappells play.My youngest brother Errol could probably have gone on to play Test cricket, had he not left the West Indies.”

“Point is, I know good cricket when I see it. Our College Cricketers, though parttime players, played some great cricket, and represented the game and their schools well. The youthful athleticism, drive and school spirit, added to talent, made it as exciting as one could wish. ”

“Picking the All America Teams was very difficult, and there were many more who could have been included. We feel that the All America 1st Team include only some of the wonderfull student athletes who particpated.”

“Leaders like Hashim Khan (GMU), Sudeep Misra (T-Birds), Maaz Tasneem Khan (CW), Ankush Chandra (BU), Anand Patel (UMBC), Gavish Sharma (UPenn), Kalpesh Patel (UMiami), and Tarun Tiyagi (USC) did a lot of work to get their Teams to the Championship . Without leadership like theirs, players would not get the opportunity to be at the Championship”

College Cricket All America 1st Team ( in random order )

Adil Bhatti (Montgomery) (Captain)

Nalin Chopra (Rutgers)

Mahjuj Sourav (York University)

Tarun Sandhu (USC)

Adrian Gordon (NYU-Poly)

Prassana Ravishankar (Auburn)

Itai Njani (Wooster)

Amr Hassan (GWU)

Akeem Dodson (York College)

Roshan Rai (UPenn)

Harsha Boddeppali (USF)

Saminda Sawardena (St Cloud )

Ankit Sehgal (Montgomery)

Romel Somavat (OSU)

Khushroo Wadia (York U)