American College Cricket » Universities

CricHQ & American College Cricket to revolutionize scoring & stats!

ljodah — Fri, 18 May 2012 02:54:59 +0000

American College Cricket and CricHQ are pleased to announce CricHQ will be the “Cricket Technology Partner” of American College Cricket.

Founder and President of American College Cricket Lloyd Jodah said,

“Beginning with Facebook, then webstreaming and TV broadcasts of games on TV Asia, to our use of the CricHQ scoring app in our 2012 National Championship, American College Cricket is happy to lead the way technologically for the game in the USA.

Late last year we tested the CricHQ iPhone scoring app and recognized it was the solution for scoring the 50 plus games of our National Championship,so we used it last March. The statistics breakdowns and summaries are tremendous too.

Now, with the addition of an Android app all our teams across the USA & Canada will have an easy scoring tool for our Championships and League games. Moreover all cricketers of every level will benefit, and keep track of their stats.”

Jamie Lloyd,the Regional Manager for CricHQ in the Americas has said, “We are very excited to be partnering with American College Cricket as they have the same pioneer spirit as we do! I’m sure we will work together to spread the awareness of the great game of cricket throughout USA and Canada.”

With American College Cricket adopting, and using the CricHQ scoring application, CricHQ will fast become ‘the’ live online scoring and stats solution for leagues and cricketers all over USA and Canada.

Check out www.AmericanCollegeCricket.com to keep up to date with all of the action.

To download the FREE CricHQ app go to the itunes or google play app stores (for iPhones & Android phones respectively), and checkout www.CricHQ.com and start scoring today !

“The FREE scoring application is easy to use for ball by ball scoring, using a smart phone. Stats are updated immediately, and every cricket stat is available for players & fans, and to settle any arguments ! ” explained American College Cricket IT Director, Rahul Potghan (Auburn).

Even text commentary is provided, and wagon wheels. A Final scoresheet is provided and a database built, with MVP, top batsman, top bowler, catches, run outs and other stats readily available.

People all over the world can follow your game,ball by ball on CricHQ !

The final four & Finals of the 2012 American College Cricket Spring Break Championship for the Shiv Chanderpaul Trophy,televised on TV Asia, was scored by the CricHQ app.

Photos – NASA Zero G flight by Auburn Captain !

ljodah — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:00:28 +0000

by Lloyd Jodah

: Auburn University Cricket Captain Naveenan Thiagajaran

“It was a one of a kind experience !” the usually cool Naveenan Thiagajaran said.

“We went up in the plane on two days, and I spent a total of 1600 seconds in zero-gravity. It was the next best thing to actually being in space. Wearing the NASA uniform was really cool , like wearing the Auburn Cricket uniform !”

When asked what he thought would be the efffect of Zero Gravity on a cricket bowler, Naveen laughed and said, “The ball would never hit the ground, it would be kind of like a Shoiab Akhtar beamer lol !”

What about a batsman hitting a six ? “That would never come down, it would be like an Afridi or Chris Gayle 6 !”

Naveenan Thiagajaran, Captain of the Auburn University Cricket Club, and a 2011 American College Cricket Player of the Year was chosen for the flight together with Sushil Bhavnani, Auburn faculty member and Auburn undergrad Travis Wheeler.

Coach Amir knows Track & Field, Baseball & Cricket !

ljodah — Sun, 13 May 2012 21:05:31 +0000

Amir Saddiqui’s greatest joy is the little baby girl Areesha, that his wife Fida recently gave birth to. But meet him, and after a few minutes, you’ll realize his passion for cricket is very strong….and then you could find out that he’s a very unusual cricketer – who also loves, and competed in baseball and track & field !

In that sense he resembles American boys of the 1800s , who might play cricket & baseball. It was cricketers in fact,the Wright Brothers, who went on to start Major League Baseball (when they founded the Cincinatti Reds) !

Amir, 34, will now channel his knowledge and enthusiasm into being a Coach for the South East Conference of American College Cricket. He is available to work with college teams in that region, on fitness, mental preparation and technical skills.

Using the Cricket Stadium at Central Broward Regional Park near Ft Lauderdale, Florida as a base to meet with players, and Amir will also,when possible, visit clubs on campus.

Saddiqui received his BA in Physical Education from the University of Islamabad, and followed up with courses in sports medicine in Virginia.

TRACK & FIELD, HANDBALL & ROUNDERS

Amir Sadiqqui has coaching Certifications in Track & Field and Handball and he also competed in both sports. As an athlete he won Punjab State Gold Medals in the 100m and 200m, and in Handball he was Captain of Pakistan. Additionally he was Business Manager of the Pakistan Rounders Federation.

BASEBALL

Amir first came to the United States in 1997 and tried out for the Baltimore Orioles and the Yankees Minor League teams, getting the chance to play in the old Yankee Stadium.

He was a Pakistan National Captain and Coach and participated in two Asian Baseball Championships. He did various baseball coaching courses including : a Certificate from the International Baseball Federation in Basic Baseball Coaching and later attended former Major League star & World Series winner Bucky Dent’s Baseball Academy in Delray Beach, Florida .

CRICKET

Amir received his Level 1 Coaching Certification from Cricket Australia, and has been active as a player and coach since moving to America,and is respected in cricket circles all along the East Coast : the Washington Cricket League,Philadelphia Cricket League and in New Jersey and New York.

Amir has coached extensively at the youth level,including stints with Worldwide Cricket Academy, United States Cricket Academy and Big Broward Cricket Academy.

Most importantly, for the past two American College Cricket Spring Break Championships Amir has worked as one of the Field Managers,and Coach-at-large to the participating teams. Players are familiar with his work ethic, knowledge, and passion for the game.

Amir’s love for tapeball cricket also fits nicely with American College Cricket President Lloyd Jodah’s belief that tapeball provides a vehicle for enabling more people to play cricket, at the college and non-collegiate level.

Ball State University ready to play ball !

ljodah — Thu, 10 May 2012 04:05:35 +0000

by Lloyd Jodah

Its appropriate that a University named Ball State should have cricket, and so it is that American College Cricket has now extended to Ball State University in Indiana.

: some members of the Ball State University Cricket Club

A small club begun 2 years ago the Ball State Cricket Club is now headed by freshman Vishal Patel (President) , sophomore Rushi Parikh is Vice President.

Club President Vishal said, “We want to be the best college team in Indiana, and beat schools like Indiana and Purdue Universities. We look forward to playing in the fall American College Cricket Midwest Championship (for the Gordon Gee Trophy), and then make it to the Nationals next March. Getting the opportunity to play on TV would be like a dream come true.”

He added, “We’re hoping to teach cricket to Middle School kids in Muncie, and expand the gaame further in our community.”

TV Asia will televise over 20 American College Cricket matches in 2012, all the Semis & Finals of the regional Championships. 3 matches of the American College Cricket National Championship last March were on TV Asia in the USA & Canada.

With International Programs set up in 2 cricket playing countries, cricket now gives Ball State University an additional connection to those countries. Established in 1972 the oldest Ball State international program, the London Center, hosts 25-35 full-time students, who live and study in London. There is also a Worcester Center in England, and an Australia Center.

Charlie Cardinal is Ball State’s mascot. He is sometimes called “Charlie.” Actor Doug Jones, who has appeared in many films,including Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Hellboy, Batman Returns, Men in Black II and Hellboy, was Charlie Cardinal, whilst attending Ball State.

Other alumni include David Letterman,cartoonist Jim Davis, the creater of Garfield and Joyce DeWitt, who played Janet Wood in the 1970s sitcom Three’s Company. John Schnattner, another alumni, is the founder and Chairman of Papa John’s Pizza - which makes the cricket team wonder if they’ll get free pizza for a year if they win a regional Championship !

Mark Champion, the narrator of the “I’m going to Disney World !” Superbowl commercials attended Ball State.

Ball State has appeared in five NCAA Division I postseason bowl games, but they have yet to win. However in 2006 Ball State placed 8th in the nation in the Cheerleading Championship.

Ball State University Cricket Club will get free uniforms courtesy of American College Cricket sponsor Coca Cola.

Arkansas Razorbacks join American College Cricket !

ljodah — Wed, 09 May 2012 04:13:25 +0000

The Razorbacks have joined American College Cricket ! A cricket club was formed at the University of Arkansas last year and held its first meeting Sept 8.

Club President Eric Holder said, “We are excited to be a part of such a strong cricketing body. Thank you for accepting our club into your association ! UACC is eager to further the passion of cricket throughout the University and the surrounding area.”

The Executive Committee is:

Eric Holder – President

Sandeep Rana – Vice President

Ashfaqur Rahman – Publicity/Marketing Officer

Pratyush Rai – Treasurer

Jay Rayaprolu – Secretary

The Club held an internal tournament in October . They also held a fundraiser at TCBY, Garland Ave to raise funds and awareness for the Cricket Club. The Cricket club was also heavily involved in the Clothes Donation Drive by University Recreation towards the end of the year, donating more than 100 pounds of clothes.

Some members also visited the Baptist Collegiate Mission on Campus to give a little ‘tutorial’ on cricket.

The University of Arkansas’ mascot is the Razorback, a type of wild boar, and UA’s teams are often referred to as the Hogs (shortened version of Razorbacks). School colors are cardinal red and white.

A football team began representing the University of Arkansas in 1894 and ended the 2011 season ranked # 3.

In basketball the Razorbacks won the 1994 National Championship under coach Nolan Richardson, and has been to six Final Fours .In baseball it went to the College World Series 6 times.

In 2004 Jamaican sprinter Veronica Campbell-Brown became the first Razorback woman to win a gold medal in the Olympics.

Fans of the University of Arkansas have been “Calling the Hogs” since the 1920s.

University of Arkansas alumni include Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and MLB Cy Young Award winning pitcher Cliff Lee.

Founded in 1871, for the 2011 Fall semester University of Arkansas had an enrollment of 23,199 students, with 5.3 % being International students. The University is ranked high in many academic categories.

The Razorbacks are preparing for their first American College Cricket matches, a double-header against Arkansas State University, which could be the first League games of American College Cricket.

Virginia Tech’s Male Athlete of the year is Kartik Radhakrishnan !

ljodah — Tue, 08 May 2012 04:03:54 +0000

Kartik Radhakrishnan was selected as the Virginia Tech Sports Club Male Athlete of the Year 2011 ! This award was presented from among 31 sports clubs listed under the Department of Recreational Sports.

Karthik is a batsman, and an off spinner. He was the Vice Captain of the Virginia Tech Hokies team that participated in their first National Championship, the 2012 American College Cricket Spring Break Championship last March.

The Virginia Tech team also plays in the Mid Atlantic Cricket Conference and here are Kartik’s stats for the 2011 season:- 11 matches, 344 runs at 34.40 average including 3 fifties (1 in semis) and 1 century. All this after he had one of the worst start to the season scoring 0,1,0,0 (total 1 run) in the first four games

Kartik took 26 wickets, 10.31 average, 15.58 strike rate and an economy rate of 3.97. He was the highest wicket-taker of the season among all the teams. He had 6 catches and captained the team in the semifinals in the absence of the regular captain.

Kartik graduated Sept 2011 with a Master of Science in Environmental Engineering from Virginia Tech. He received his B.Tech Civil Engineering from one of the premier institutes, NIT Nagpur, India in 2007 then worked for 2 years at Essar Steel Ltd in Gujurat as a Structural Engineer.

Kartik Radhakrishnan’s selection as the VT Sports Club Male Athlete of the Year follows the Gators’ Ricky Nayar’s groundbreaking nomination for a similar Award at the University of Florida last year.

This is another manifestation of how participation in American College Cricket is giving cricket, and our players, a profile in Colleges all over the USA & Canada. In 3 and a half years we’ve progressed from where there was no organized collegiate cricket, to now our players are being recognized as just like in any other sport !

Road to a National Championship !

ljodah — Fri, 04 May 2012 04:39:16 +0000

by Mohammad Suleman.

York College Cricket Club earnestly thanks American College Cricket and its President/Organizer/Founder Mr. Lloyd Jodah. We would also like to congratulate all the participants for a successful 2012 Spring Break Championship that was held in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. from March 14-18, 2012.

York College Cricket Club started in spring of 2010 with the help of American College Cricket president Mr. Lloyd Jodah. Within two months, Cardinals put together the team and registered to compete in 2010 Spring Break Championship where York C were the runner-up after a big loss to York University from Canada. In the same year, 2010 American College Cricket North-East Regional Championship, York lost to City Tech (CUNY) in a thriller.

In the year, 2011 York Cardinals struggled to put together a team for 2011 National Championship due to exam schedule and lack of resources. However, York Cardinals came back strongly in 2011 Regionals and won the title after defeating NJIT in the finals. All the games in 2011 Regionals were televised by TV Asia. It was the best thing that happened to US Cricket in ages.

Year 2012, brought great success for York College Cricket Club. Coming strongly from winning the Regional title just 2 months ago, York Cardinals were committed and ready to take on any challenge. I would like to highlight the hard work of newly elected Club President, Shamas Rehman and Team Captain Khizar Abbas, working hand to hand with Club members, Hayat Sikandar, Bilal Shahid, Akeem Dodson, Yasin Khan, Kashif Choudry, Mudassir Hussain, Hugo D O’Liveira, and Rodigan Micheal. The addition of Karan Ganesh on the team was tremendous.

Cardinals entered the National arena with being one the favorites. York Cardinals defeating NYU-Poly, Auburn and University of Houston Clearlake in the first round, went on to beat Cleveland State in the play-offs and qualified for Semi-finals. On the other hand, USF and York University earned a spot in the Semi’s.

Sunday, March 18, 2012.

The stage was set. Sunny Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Was ready to host the Semi-finals and Final of 2012 American College Cricket Spring Break National Championship at the only ICC certified Cricket stadium in the United States of America. Coca Cola sponsored the event and TV Asia was there to cover the historic event. The crowd was building to witness a great day of action. The night before, back at Hotel, I tried learning how to swim. I was somewhat successful. Then I had a little laugh about people confusing York College with York University. USF moved into the finals after beating York University in the first Semi-final of the day.

Secondly, York Cardinals faced previously undefeated Texas A&M University. Texas A&M bowling first, got off to a ideal start by removing Bilal and Akeem very early. But, calm and smart Karan Ganesh and aggressive hitting by Captain Abbas set up a reasonable total of 147. In reply, Texas A&M were bowled out for 76. “This set up York to take on the University of South Florida in the final match, a team that has reached the Final Four in three of the past four seasons.”

2012 American College Cricket Spring Break National Championship- Finals

(York College Cardinals vs. University of South Florida)

Caridnals batting first scored 151/8 in 20 overs. Akeem Dodson top scoring 78 with Karan Ganesh adding 35 to the total. In reply, USF got off to a fiery start with their openers Sai Ramesh(MVP- 2012 Nationals) and Asgher Shiekh aka Abdullah. Some power hitting by both openers led to change in tactics and York College Captain brought the spin earlier than planned. Interestly, he brought me (Mohammad Suleman –Final MVP) on and I got the break-through for the team.

On the other hand, Sai Ramesh partnered with Indawalla continued their impressive stroke-play and built a strong partnership of 72. Things were looking bright for USF and they were sensing a victory here. I was there for the team. Team believed in me, and skipper brought me on for the second spell. I got the big fish. This changed everything for us. USF’s middle order collapsed. Cardinals were pumped up and had their hopes up again. Also, Bilal Shahid and Yasin Khan generated good pace in their second spells with a mix of slow balls and got 2 wickets each. Karan Ganesh bowled handsomely outside off and bagged 2 wickets aswell. Finally, USF were bowled out for 129. York Cardinals were declared Champions of 2012 Nationals.

I would like to congratulate all our Club members, College, fans, families and friends and Organizers for this great achievement. The Championship was well-organized and well structured. There was no secret to our success. It was all hard work and commitment. Some great all round performances, variation of pace and Spin bowling, attacking and well planned classy stroke playing, sharp fielding and lightning glove work. It was a job well done.

Photos by RIVERVIEW STUDIOS/Connie Yen

Penn State Cricket wins school Award !

ljodah — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 01:56:36 +0000

: At the reception at Beaver Stadium Mount Nittany Club

by Lloyd Jodah

Penn State Cricket Club won the Most Improved Club Award at the Penn State Club Sports Honors Reception !

Penn State Cricket had a total of 3 nominations:

1) Excellence in Outdoor Activities Award
2) Most Improved Club Award (WON)
3) Best Secretary (Rishabh Bahel)

It was a wonderful accomplishment by the Club, which had come a long way within the past 6 months.

The Penn State Cricket Club played a couple of matches in New York back in 2009, but organizationally struggled to get to the next level to compete in American College Cricket for the next two years.

Then a freshman named Haris Mohiuddin, disappointed at missing the opportunity to play in the American College Cricket Spring Break Championship in 2011, re-focused the Club and a new strategy was formulated.

A young Penn State Cricket team then made it to the Northeast regional where they were among the first teams to play in televised domestic cricket matches in the US and Canada.

The addition of an Australian Coach, David Chakravorty, was another tremendous step.

The Nittany Lions then journeyed to Florida for their first nationals, the 2012 American College Cricket Spring Break Championship in March, and returned to Happy Valley with a # 15 Ranking in the US and Canada !

Their Coach, David, also happened to be one of the best play by play commentator on the televised matches.

NASA Flight for Auburn’s Cricket Captain & 2011 Player of the Year !

ljodah — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 00:38:46 +0000

: Naveen Thiagajaran, Auburn Cricket Captain & doctoral candidate, & Travis Wheeler

Naveenan Thiagajaran, Captain of the Auburn University Cricket Club, and a 2011 American College Cricket Player of the Year has been chosen to fly on NASA’s Zero-G reduced-gravity aircraft ! Naveen will fly out of NASA’s Lynden B. Johnson Space Center in Houston on May 3.

As Morgan Stashick explained in the Auburn University Samuel Ginn College of Engineering media :

Sushil Bhavnani, faculty member in Auburn University’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, doctoral candidate Naveenan Thiagarajan and undergraduate student Travis Wheeler have been chosen to fly on NASA’s Zero-G reduced gravity aircraft, affectionately known as the “Vomit Comet.” The team’s project, “Fluid Lateral Motion using Surface Microstructures-Channel Flow from a Large Array,” was selected for the flight to study the effects of microgravity on boiling.

Thiagajaran, who began the project three years ago whilst completing his Master’s, told Morgan, “I am thrilled to be a part of this experience, this project is a significant part of my dissertation, and is a story that I will be proud to tell my grandchildren.”

We haven’t spoken with them, but we’re sure that Naveen’s parents are thrilled at the prospect of grandchildren and great-grands.

An excellent cricket captain and Club President, Naveen led the Auburn Tigers to the final four at the nationals in March 2011, after Auburn defeated University of Florida for the South East regional title in Nov 2010. Losing a number of key players to graduation, Auburn did not fare as well at the 2012 American College Cricket Nationals.

As a batsman, he has given Auburn solid starts as an opener. In 2011 (at the South East regional & the American College Cricket Spring Break Championship) he made three fifties, 56*,59 & 50 . Two of which came against SEC rivals the Gators.

No doubt after his stint in zero gravity Thiagajaran will bring new perspectives to cricket’s eternal debates about a cricket ball’s “flight” and “reverse swing”.

PHOTOS courtesy of Morgan Stashick, Auburn University Samuel Ginn College of Engineering

TV – Sai Ramesh is 2012 Championship MVP !

ljodah — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 15:24:30 +0000