American College Cricket staged the 2nd Annual game between the USC Trojans and the UCLA Bruins for the Varma-Sentance Trophy, to begin the West Coast Championship. The game was played under floodlights at Cromwell Track & Field Stadium on the USC campus on Friday night.

It seemed like deja vu, as the UCLA Captain Abhinav Singh smashed 72 in trying to lead his team to victory against the Tojans. Like last year’s effort by then UCLA Captain Junayd Bandaya the effort was in vain and USC won the game.

Sat and Sunday the West Coast Championship took place on the Pac 12 soccer field of USC where tailgating USC fans watched their cricket team go on to retain the West Coast Championship,defeating UC Riverside and Thunderbird Graduate School for Global Management.
TV Asia reported on the Championship.

So it was with USC tailgaters watching, American College Cricketers battled on the USC soccer field – delighting in playing on the best outfield I have seen a cricket game played on in the USA !

The tailgaters ate & drank, and asked questions about cricket and what they were witnessing – they the unexpected cricket contest as a build up to the USC Trojans vs UCLA Bruins football game !

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The Trojans Cricket Club of the University of Southern California (USC) and the Southern California Junior Cricket Association hosted the American College Cricket West Coast Championship this Thanksgiving Weekend for the TV Asia Trophy.

The perfect outfield was fast, and allowed playing of shots like real cricket – along the ground! This was definitely not “bush cricket” as novelist Joseph O’Neill said.

Ammerican College Cricket Advisory Board members David Sentance and Arvin Varma played huge roles in a delightful weekend of competition, as a TV Asia crew reported on the West Coast Championship – next year the 3 games – the Semis and the Finals will be televised from California.

The USC Trojans played undefeated winning all their games, including the Finals vs Thunderbird Graduate School of Global Management. Ravi Thimbawala was declared the Championship MVP for his batting which included scores of 74,44 and 32. Ravi also took 4 wickets with his medium pace, and a run out.

UC Riverside made their American College Cricket debut, won 1 game and lost 1.

The Thunderbird team once again made the 8 hour drive from Arizona, and lost in the Finals for the 2nd year to USC.

USC won their game against rivals UCLA Bruins, just as the Trojans did later in football.

The air was electric as thousands of fans tailgated Saturday for the USC/UCLA football game – hundreds did so whilst watching the American College Cricket teams play on the USC campus.

Schools, meanwhile, are stepping up their efforts to recruit students from other states, using the higher tuition these out of state or international students pay, to help.

How does this affect a possible American College Cricket member or team ? 

1. Schools need you, your tuition $$$, and your academic excellence.

2. They will however have a ready reason to say they cannot afford to fund your sport – cricket.

3. Don’t be put off by that excuse, use # 1 to counter # 2.

4. Remember every school budget includes funds for “student activities” – for a TINY investment in a cricket team our member Colleges are getting a HUGE return on their investment in publicity and student interest, both internationally and domestically. 

5. But Remember practically ALL American College Cricket teams were started WITHOUT school funding so don’t wait for, or depend on school funding. 

According to the New York Times,

“ the wealthiest and poorest students fare better, either because they can afford the hefty increases or because they have enough financial aid to cover them. But students from families with incomes in the low six figures often feel the biggest pinch, taking out more loans with each tuition increase.

Each of the campuses is responsible for making its own cuts, which are based on the number of students enrolled. At Fresno State, 57 positions are going unfilled. In Long Beach, the mechanical engineering program may shut down because there are just a couple of professors still teaching. ”

For more read article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/09/us/09uc.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha23

Shiva Vashishat (UC Davis)cricket, Cameron Sentance (UC Davis) football

The UCLA Bruins and USC Trojans at the first UCLA vs USC Cricket game, Thnksgiving 2010

T’was the night before the USC vs Notre Dame game, when all through the USC campus there was a stirring….it was the USC Marching Band and the USC Cheerleaders, as the USC Trojans and the UCLA Bruins took the field to play….a cricket game.

Yes one week before the Trojans and Bruins were set to play in the Rose Bowl, the first Annual Sentance Varma Classic took place at Cromwell Field. The two arch rivals will now play an annual cricket game for, not the Victory Bell, but the Victory Stumps ! “Conquest” had come to cricket !

The event is named after David Sentance and Arvin Varma. David Sentance,a cricket historian and author of “Cricket in America 1710-2000 and an Alumni of UCLA , has been a key figure of Southern California cricket for decades. Arvin Varma is a USC alumni, who started the Trojan Cricket Club in 1992. Varma is now Assistant Director of Recreational Sports at the University of Southern California.

The Trojans participated in the 2010 American College Cricket Spring Break Championship, and play in the Southern California Cricket Association leagues,acquiring a lot of experience. The Bruins are new to American College Cricket, and just managed to put a tapeball team together for this inaugural game, but you could not tell that from the fight they put up.

USC after a shaky start losing Tarun Sandhu early, amassed 199 runs due to a swashbuckling 65 from eventual MVP, Abhimayu, who played confident shots all around the wicket to dominate the Trojans scoring. Out of the first 59 runs Abhimanyu had 52, to chants of “Fight On”.

It looked to be a tough task for any team, however the UCLA Captain Junayd Banday took it to the USC bowlers with some tremndous shots.He laid into the Trojans bowling with arrogance and the ball continually flew into the stands. However Banday eventually went for 79, and UCLA fell short by 40 runs. So ona record cold night in LA the University of Southern California took home the “Victory Stumps” in the inaugural Annual Sentance Varma Classic !
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USC Cheerleaders and Marching Band



Tarun Sandu, President the USC Trojans Cricket club and Game MVP, Abhimanyu